Before the Shadows Come
by xboxbabe
Summary: Sequel to Shadow of a Man. Ranger and Stephanie face the hardest trials they've ever experienced to keep an innocent life safe. AU fic of their journey of survival and the freedom to make their own life decisions, against the wishes IAPSA members.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

_Disclaimer: Standard – JE's stuff belongs to her, I'm just playing with it._

****************

"God, I can't stop staring at him. He's beautiful." The woman said as she stared through the glass. Ranger flashed his two hundred watt grin at both of us and walked closer to show off the goods.

Her eyes widened and grew soft as her eyes settled on his beautiful package. "_Hello_ there, baby." Her voice was soft and low and full of emotion.

He smiled again and began to stroke his fingers down over soft, smooth skin.

"You're killing me!" she said as she watched him, mesmerized.

I finally rolled my eyes and nudged her in the arm. "Go on in. You can hold him."

"You don't mind?" she asked.

"Not one bit. I'm tired and happy to let someone take him for a while." My smile was genuine. It wasn't every day I sent a woman in to relieve my husband, but I just wasn't up to it. I really needed some sleep and there was a lot of love to go around.

"Thanks, Stephanie. I can't wait to get in there!" she squealed.

"I know you can't, Cari." My smile was soft and gentle. I was fatigued and ready for a nap. Ranger was full of energy and I figured she'd be just the company he needed while I rested.

Cari walked through the door to join Carlos behind the glass. A wide smile spread on her face and he leaned down to kiss her cheek gently. She raised her hand up to stroke his cheek and said a few words to him in a low voice and I heard his laughter through the glass. I smiled at him as he drew Cari into a warm embrace and then she took the little bundle out of his arms. Our son.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: Standard – JE's stuff belongs to her, I'm just playing with it._

_A/N: Thanks to M and May (Rangerhunters) for the great friendship and for being kind enough to beta this for me. __J_

********** ********** **********

"He's the most beautiful baby, he really is." Tank said as he entered my hospital room.

I smiled at him and gave him a hug. "Thanks, Big Guy."

Tank is our best friend and confidant. He is also an unmentionable, like Carlos and me. He came to the hospital the minute he had heard I was in labor and was fiercely protective of our privacy. When I'd finally given birth to a healthy baby boy, Tank's large black hands scooped him up the minute he was allowed into the room. It was so comical to see the tiny bundle swaddled inside a blue blanket enveloped in his large grasp. The sight of this big mountain of a man cuddling a helpless little baby made me laugh.

His joy over our son was touching and nearly rivaled our own happiness. Carlos Jacinto Manoso was born on June twelfth: a nice surprise since my birthday is October twelfth and Carlos' birthday is August twelfth. Our birthdays are now all two months apart to the day.

Jacinto has a thin layer of fine black hair that lies smoothly against his scalp, white skin that is a shade darker than mine, and my big blue eyes fringed in long, black lashes that he inherited from his father.

I am five feet seven inches tall, and usually weigh about one hundred twenty five pounds when I haven't just given birth. I have bright blue eyes, dark brown hair the color of chestnut shells with natural darker and lighter highlights, that result in a mass of wildly untamed curls. My skin is a translucent porcelain and flushes easily with my moods and thoughts. I have a horrible time with blushing and I work hard to control it. My husband, however, thinks it is charming and does his best to bring out my blushes frequently with naughty comments.

Carlos is five feet ten inches of heavily muscled mocha latte-toned skin. He is Cuban American, has even white teeth that brighten a room when he flashes his full smile. He and I are both thirty-five. He has dark brown eyes that change to black when he is aroused or enraged. His thick, curly black eyelashes give his eyes an exotic appearance. His hair is almost shoulder length, thick, black and wavy, and he keeps it pulled back into a ponytail low at the back of his head.

Carlos and I had marveled over Jacinto from the moment he was born.

"_Do you think his skin will get darker?" I asked, stroking a fingertip over his little arm._

"_Most likely, Babe. He will probably be as dark as he's going to get by the time he is a year old." He nuzzled my neck when I leaned against him in my hospital bed. "See around his fingernails where the skin is a bit darker? He'll probably be closer to that color."_

_I smiled and raised a tiny fist to my lips. "Good, he'll be right in between you and me. Light caramel."_

_I could feel him smile against my hair. "You like your food descriptions, Babe. Does that mean you think he looks good enough to eat?"_

"_Oh, he definitely does. You are both good enough to eat." My voice was raspy from tears that threatened to fall. "I can't believe we created him."_

_Carlos' arms tightened around me, but not too tight. He was careful to be gentle with me since I'd gone through such a hard time delivering our precious son. "We did, Babe. He's perfect." His voice had a huskier quality to it and I knew that he wasn't beyond an emotional response to the miracle in my arms._

"Tank, do we have everyone in place?" I asked. It hadn't taken long for our joy to turn to horror as we received word that the Board of Advisors wasn't happy about us reproducing. I had been three months pregnant when we were advised to terminate my pregnancy. I couldn't believe it. We still had a friend in Batiste, but we couldn't trust anyone from IAPSA right now.

Tank nodded gravely. "Two guards outside and two guards inside. You won't have much privacy, but you'll have safety."

"Okay," I sighed out. "This is going to be hectic."

"Carlos should be bringing Jacinto back from the nursery any minute. All of his tests are through." Tank kissed the top of my head and turned toward the door. "We're all right here. I'm escorting Carissa home when she's done fawning over her new nephew." Carissa, or Cari for short, is Carlos' sister closest to him in age. She came to the hospital as soon as she could to welcome Jacinto to the world.

We were in a war. The Board had received word from a seer that this baby would be the most powerful unmentionable in history and was destined to bring the organization and all unmentionables to their knees. Once that thought was planted in their minds, they demanded that we 'get rid of the threat' and to undergo operations to prevent pregnancy. The idea was preposterous to us and we had not complied with their wishes.

I have the ability to see into the future, but I am not a seer and can't clarify the accuracy of visions that take place far into the future. Though I have visions of the distant future from time to time, it's not the best use of my gift. The furthest into the future I can accurately see is a couple of weeks, at best, but this prophecy felt off to me. There was no way in hell Carlos and I would kill our child.

Now that he'd arrived, the risk was far greater. Batiste had stepped into our room the same night our son was born to notify us that our family would be hunted. This was a real shock to us because we had been told that our child was no threat until after his first birthday when his actual powers could be observed. If he was proven to have 'normal' unmentionable abilities, he would be spared. They moved the time table up on us and, while we had a contingency plan in place, we weren't mentally prepared for it.

We had eight people on our side. Eight unmentionables against a multitude: Batiste, who resigned from the organization after they'd issued their decree; Diesel, another great friend who has always been there for us; Tank; Javier, Carlos' uncle; Aric, a dear friend to both of us; Lynck, someone who has been instrumental in our lives so far; Jensen, a woman about my age who had some really unique unmentionable qualities, and Oliver, a healer.

There were probably more who wouldn't harm us, but they also weren't willing to be on our 'side' in this battle. The organization strikes fear into the hearts of many. It would be a struggle to survive if we didn't find a way to come to a truce with them. We also weren't sure how many people were on board with the decision, and we did know we didn't have the luxury or the time to find out.

We made plans to go into hiding. We have a safe compound that can't be breached by anyone without our knowledge, but we also had to get there undetected. We were expecting everyone to meet us in two hours to go over the plan. Until then, we were enjoying the time with our son as much as possible.

We named Jacinto after Carlos, but had decided to call him by his middle name so they had their own identities in our house, especially since Carlos refused to be called by his actual first name, which is Ricardo. Ricardo Carlos Manoso was named after his father, Eduardo Ricardo Manoso. It is a family tradition for the first born son to have the father's middle name as a first name. Most of the men in his family went by their middle names, but not all of them.

We followed tradition and called him Jacinto, giving him the nickname of Jaci. So now we have a Javi and a Jaci, though Carlos has taken to calling him _hijito_, which means 'little son' in Spanish. I love it when my husband speaks his Spanish terms of endearment, especially when he calls me _guapísima_, which means he thinks I'm absolutely the most beautiful woman. They are both miracles to me and I intended to keep them in my life and to stay in theirs.

The door to my room opened and my smiling husband entered, carrying our beautiful boy. I don't think I've ever seen Carlos smile as much in the whole time I've known him as I have today. Maybe on our wedding day, but I can't be sure. We got married in March. We had debated on getting married because of the baby, but it seemed the right thing to do anyway. We were a family and staying together, so there was no reason _not to _do it, even if it wasn't required for us to maintain our commitment to one another.

I had to admit, I loved calling him my husband. There was something about the word husband that raised his place in my heart. I hadn't realized it would make such a difference to me until after the ceremony. "Here, _hijito_, go see your _Mamá_. She hasn't held you in a couple of hours and must be missing you terribly." He placed Jaci into my arms and leaned in to kiss me with his warm lips. "Enjoy our son, Babe. I'm going to talk to Javi, Tank and Aric before the others arrive."

"Oh, I will." I looked down at my baby and noted his lips rooting around for food. "Looks like your daddy brought you to me just in time, my hungry little man." I rearranged my gown, careful to cover myself, and nursed him, mindlessly humming a lullaby as I did so. Carlos returned just after I'd burped Jaci and switched him to the other side.

"Am I going to have to share?" He had his wolf grin on.

"Unfortunately, Carlos, you get sloppy seconds. Our growing son gets first dibs on the goods for now." I winked and stroked Jaci's cheek while he suckled.

"We've decided that we need to have Oliver heal you. I know you wanted to go through the natural process, but we need to move, Babe." His voice was quiet. He toyed with Jaci's fist as he spoke to me, but I knew that he was dead serious and I also knew that he was right.

I sighed my acquiescence. "I know. I thought it would come to this. It's okay. Bring him in when he gets here. As long as it won't affect my ability to nurse Jaci."

"I'll ask him. Thank you for understanding. I'd rather spend my energy loving both of you right now." Despite the circumstances, his face wore a lazy and relaxed smile. "I can't believe we have a son."

I smiled and nodded. Jaci pulled back, his hunger satisfied. I burped him and then handed him to Carlos for his diaper change. "Be careful, don't get squirted like last time," I reminded him. "You don't have time to change clothes now."

He almost rolled his eyes at me and took Jaci to his little bassinet. This diaper change went faster than the last time and he avoided the initial shower. He laid Jaci in his bassinet and came back to cuddle with me in my bed, a proud grin on his face.

"They should be here soon." I placed my head on his shoulder and he held my hand over his heart.

"Yes, _guapísima_, they will."

"I hope Oliver gets here soon, it'd be nice to get a shower before the meeting." I looked at the bathroom door wistfully.

Carlos pulled out his phone. "Hey, man. Can you get here now? Sure. Thanks, I owe you."

A couple of minutes later, Oliver walked into my room. "Hey, Sweetie."

"Glad to see you, Ol." I sat up and waited. I loved being healed. It was a wonderful feeling, cool and fluttery from my head to my toes. It was almost addicting.

He placed his hands on my abdomen and I felt the cool 'whoosh' fill me, followed by a strong vibration coursing through my body and ending with an unbelievably good feeling seeping over me. When he was finished I looked down. "Wow, I look like I was never pregnant!" I hadn't expected to lose my baby bump so fast.

"It's part of the healing process." Oliver shrugged. "Besides, you still have some things that make it obvious you had a baby." He flicked a pointed glance at my breasts and I felt, rather than heard, Carlos give a low growl. "Hey man," Oliver started, "I'm just saying…"

"Time for my shower!" I jumped out of bed and sprinted for the bathroom. I was so glad my pains were gone. I had twenty minutes and I was going to enjoy every single one of them.

When I was finished, I came out and my room was full of people. Everyone was here. Tank, Javi, Aric, Oliver, Jensen, Diesel, Batiste, Lynck, a woman I didn't recognize and…Morelli?

I waved and crossed to my bed to snuggle into Carlos' arms. Joe came over. "Hey, Steph. I just wanted to drop in and see the little guy. I didn't realize you'd have a full house." He gave Carlos and me a friendly smile.

"It's fine, Joe. We are just having…some trouble." I provided as an explanation.

"Trouble?"

"In the unmentionable world. Can I tell you about it later? We need to have this meeting. You're welcome to stay." I saw Diesel coming toward us out of the corner of my eye.

I looked up and saw his eyes twinkling. Diesel and Morelli stood at about the same height of six feet one inch. Where Morelli was dark and Italian, Diesel was light and Swiss. They had about the same muscular build and sexy features. Sometimes it seemed I was looking at opposite ends of the same coin.

"Morelli." Diesel said by way of greeting.

"Diesel."

"Who is that woman with you, Diesel?" I indicated to the tall blonde woman I had never seen before. She was at least five feet ten inches, had thick, straight hair and deeply tanned skin. Her bright green eyes swept over the room, taking in the scene. She had a pleasant expression on her face that made her approachable.

He smiled brightly. "That's my wife, Katrine."

We all looked over at her and she gave a shy smile and waved.

"Okay, Diesel. I have to ask. Do you have a real name? I mean, if you're married, you must, right?" I said with a huge grin.

"Yes." He rolled his eyes. "My name is Cedric. Cedric Sebastian Dietiker. That would make her Katrine Collette Dietiker. We've been married for three years." His eyes twinkled at us in silent mirth. He was definitely enjoying confounding our group.

The three of us sat dumbfounded looking at him. Carlos finally broke the silence. "Three years?"

"Yes." His eyes twinkled. He motioned for her to come over to the group. "My love, this is Stephanie, Carlos and Morelli, uh, Joe."

"My love?" My jaw dropped. "You'll have to excuse me, Katrine. I can't picture Diesel using terms of endearment…"

She smiled. "It's okay. He's turning over a new leaf. Trying to be a little more…doting."

We all just stared at him, he kept grinning with that same twinkle in his eye.

"You sound American." I said.

"I'm from Malibu." We just looked at Diesel again.

"You're all going to give my lovely wife a complex." He said in mock offense.

"Sorry." I mumbled.

She laughed. "Don't worry. I've wanted to meet you for a long time. Ced has told me all about you."

I just stared at her, dumbfounded. I wondered if he told her about the many times he had kissed me in the past three years.

_No and leave it out of conversation, please._ Came Diesel's response in my head.

_Still reading my mind, I see. What's up with you? How has she never come up before?_ My eyes sought his out momentarily during our exchange.

_It's a long story, promise to fill you in later._

I turned my attention to Katrine and gave her a bright smile.

"You have a cute little guy there." She inclined her head toward the bassinet that was surrounded by a flock of large, protective people.

I was opening my mouth to tell her thank you when Batiste stood and said, "Everyone, please, listen. It's come to my attention that this meeting will have to take place elsewhere. Jade and Harman are on their way here. My outlooks have spotted them. We need to remove the Manosos to their compound immediately.

I grabbed Carlos' hand and looked at him with a furrowed brow. "It will be fine, Babe. Let's grab Jaci and go."

Our eight bodyguards stood as one. "Everyone is ready." Tank said.

"Let's go." Batiste said.


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: Standard – JE's stuff belongs to her, I'm just playing with it._

_A/N: Thanks again to M&M for the helpful comments and proofing! Sorry everyone. I know I posted this and then retracted it. Somehow (and I don't know how) I posted the wrong version and I had to fix it!_

********** ********** **********

"You're leaving the hospital?" Morelli asked.

"We have to. You should go, too. I don't want you to be around when they arrive. You don't need to get caught up in this." Carlos was packing things into his duffel and I was gathering Jaci close to me. Morelli was standing with his cop face on, hands on his hips, and shaking his head. "Joe, please. You need to go."

"Not likely." He gave a frustrated toss of his hand. "Let me come, I'll help."

"We have no idea how long we'll be gone." I was tossing diapers into the diaper bag and grabbing any necessities that I thought would come in handy before we could go to a store. "What about your job?"

"Forget my job for now, Stephanie. I'm your friend. You're in trouble and I'd like to help. I know that I don't have powers…but I still want to help." He looked hurt that I wasn't even considering him as an option. I threw a pleading glance in Carlos's direction.

"Morelli, this is unmentionable trouble. It's not that we don't want you to help, but we have to consider the kind of trouble that could come to you–"

"This is _bullshit_. Let me help." My heart went out to Morelli. He really wanted to be involved.

"Carlos, I _can_ use help with Jaci when we're on rounds." I looked at Joe. "Do you mind being on baby duty?"

"No."

"We don't have time to argue. If he is coming, then bring him!" Batiste was at the end of his patience. "They'll be here any minute. We have them blocked from popping in, but they move fast on their feet."

I nodded. "Okay, Joe. Hold my arm. We're going to be moving around a lot for the next few days. Our compound is well hidden, but to get there we need to leave a long trail that will hopefully dissipate before our chasers can catch us."

He wrapped his long fingers around my arm and nodded at Carlos, who warned him, "Hang on and don't let go, Joe."

My thoughts went to our first destination and soon I was standing there with Joe. He looked around. "Where are we?"

I nodded and spoke in a lowered voice, "It doesn't matter. No talking, yet. Wait for everyone."

One by one, they popped in. First Batiste, then Lynck, Aric, Javi, Diesel with Katrine, Tank, Oliver and Jensen. The destination was a little alcove in the rocks on an undisclosed private beach that would provide cover for us popping in so we wouldn't be seen. I looked nervously from one person to the next. _Where is Carlos?_

_We need to move, Stephanie._ Batiste's reply came through.

_No! We're waiting for him._

_You know we need to go, Sweet Cheeks._ Diesel provided.

I looked around at the expectant gazes. _Okay, Carlos knows where we're going. He'll meet us there._

Jaci began to fuss a little and I bounced him, patting his little bottom. We began our trek through the rocks, avoiding the salt spray when the waves crashed against them. Joe held firmly to my arm to help me manage the difficult terrain. Suddenly, I felt an arm circle my waist and looked up to see Carlos smiling at me.

_What happened?_

_Sorry, Babe. I wanted to settle our bill with the hospital before we left. Thought I could get it done before anyone worried, but there was a line._ He squeezed my waist and pressed a kiss to my cheek.

_I was worried, but I'm glad you handled it._

Morelli let go of my arm and took a post in front of me in case I stumbled. I was glad because my concentration was on the future at all times. I wanted to make sure we could make a fast getaway if someone appeared.

_Morelli likes to get himself in over his head, Babe_.

_I know, but he wants to help. He's been a good friend and I don't have the heart to cut him out._

_Just as long as he understands what he's up against._

_I'll talk to him when we get settled._

As we came around the rocks and further inland, the safe house was in sight. It was nestled up on top a rocky cliff, practically out of sight and difficult to reach. Add in the protections we had put in place to prevent uninvited guests and it was damn near impenetrable.

Lynck sped ahead of the group and jumped up the rocks like a well-toned cat. Tank followed, jumping high into the air. They were going to check security before the rest of us arrived. I could see Morelli stiffen as he witnessed those feats of superhuman strength.

"Kind of like seeing the million dollar man up close and personal." I whispered.

"Yeah. I don't know if I'll ever get used to this." He replied over his shoulder.

"Well, get used to it anyway. You're going to be flying in a minute." I could tell he thought I was joking. Carlos and I smiled at each other.

A few moments later, Tank jumped down from the cliff and came over to us. "It's all good. Let's get everyone inside."

I handed Jaci to Carlos and cast a glance at Tank. "Take them?"

He nodded and Carlos pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Don't freak Morelli out too much, Babe. We don't have time to play right now."

I grinned and walked over to Morelli, stepping in front of him, my back to his chest. "Put your arms around my waist."

He didn't move a muscle and I could sense him asking silent permission from Carlos, who gave his standard barely perceptible nod, and Joe's arms went around my waist. "Hang on tight, Joe."

I put my arms over his in a tight grip and shot into the air, twirling, and then zoomed in toward the house. "Holy fuck!" Morelli shouted. "Shit!" His arms tightened to vices around me by the time we landed. When our feet hit the ground, he didn't let go.

I turned to look at his stricken face. "Too much, too soon?"

"How fucking long have you been able to fucking do that?" He was trembling. I had really shocked him.

I shrugged. "A while. You're safe now, you can let go."

He rubbed a hand over his face. "Christ."

"I can take you home if this is too much for you." I offered.

"No, it's fine. You just…give me a little warning next time, okay?" He slid his hands into his pockets. "I wasn't expecting that at all. None of this _unmentionable_ stuff."

"Joe, you're jealous…"

"I am." He didn't try to deny it. "I don't get how everyone has all these abilities…"

I placed a hand on his arm. "I don't know, either. I sometimes wish I could go back, but I can't."

He stared out at the ocean for a beat. "I feel left out. My friends are moving on and I can't follow them."

I didn't know what to say. I looked over at Carlos and he inclined his head to the house. I nodded. "Joe, let's go in. We can't stay out here for long."

He turned toward the house and I watched him for a moment until Jaci's cries drew my attention. I walked over to Carlos and scooped up my little man and crooned, "It's been an exciting first day of life for you, little one."

Once inside, I settled down with Jaci in my arms and comforted him against my chest. I knew he would need to eat soon, but wanted to wait until everyone was calm.

Batiste looked around the room. "Everyone get some rest. We leave tonight at midnight for the next destination." He gave orders to Aric, Lynck, Tank, and Jensen since they had first watch on guard duty.

After those four left, I fed Jaci and then handed him to Carlos. My mind was working its way twenty, thirty, and forty minutes ahead. All was clear and I was starting to relax when I suddenly saw something that stopped my heart about an hour out. Joe saw my face first.

"Steph, what is it?"

"We have to clear out!"

"Babe?"

"I mean it. There's an explosion. We have to leave now. Next place. They're going to find us if we don't." I felt as if I was speaking unintelligible sentences because everyone was looking at me like I was half mad. "Get a move on!"

To give them all credit, they immediately stood and started packing the things that had been unpacked in the short time we'd been here.

I went to find Batiste, who was speaking with Tank privately. He looked at me and froze at the expression on my face. "You saw something?"

"Yes, we need to leave. Now."

He nodded. "Get everyone in the house out, then the four guards and I will follow."

I went back in. "Carlos, let's go. Diesel." I could see they were all packed. Diesel nodded and picked up a bag and wrapped an arm around Katrine. I walked over to Morelli and grabbed his arm and watched as each person popped out of view. I looked at Joe and then concentrated on our next destination and we materialized at a campsite in a deeply wooded area. There were two RVs parked at two adjoining campsites. It was dark and I could barely make out the scene around us.

"Where are we?" I heard Katrine's voice.

"Yosemite." Diesel replied softly.

"Everyone just hold still, we'll get some lights on. Steph, get the baby inside to keep him away from the mosquitoes." Carlos spoke from beside me and pressed Jaci into my arms. I then felt Joe's hand on my arm, leading me in the dark to the RV closest to me. After a moment, the door was opened and he flipped on a light inside. As soon as I was in, he shut the door behind me to close off the entrance from the thirsty bloodsuckers.

I looked around. The RV was large with a living room at one end that had French doors closing it off from the dining and kitchen area where I was standing. To my right was a step up into the master suite with a queen sized bed and a small travel crib set up. I knew that the RV could host six adults comfortably and so could its partner.

I changed Jaci and swaddled him in his blanket so I could lay him down for bed. I was hoping that we'd be here long enough for him to get a good rest and maybe me, as well. Even though I'd been healed, I was still exhausted and had been through a harrowing thirty-six hours and was in desperate need of rest.

As if sensing my thoughts, Carlos entered the RV and pushed me toward the bedroom. "Put him down in his travel bed and lay down for some sleep. Jensen is watching ahead."

Grateful to set my mind at ease for a while, I put Jaci down in the travel crib and fell into the bed practically asleep before my head hit the pillow. I woke once in the night to feed Jaci and then fell back into a deep sleep.

The pale morning light pulled me from my slumber and I felt Carlos' arm around my waist and his body pressed snug against mine. I was glad he had been able to get some sleep, too. I checked Jaci, who was sleeping soundly, but I instinctively knew that he would wake as soon as he sensed me awake.

_Carlos._ He stirred when I called to his mind. _Carlos, wake up._

I watched him as he popped an eye open. _Don't speak. I want a shower, can you watch Jaci? He'll want to eat as soon as he wakes._

_Go, Babe. I'll watch him_. He smiled at me and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. I smiled back at him and climbed over him to exit the bed.

With my mind working ahead, I took a fast shower, knowing that we had limited water. I washed my hair and rinsed my body sparingly. When I stepped out of the tiny bathroom, I noticed Carlos was sitting up in bed with Jaci in his arms. He was speaking to him in Spanish in a lilting tone. I didn't understand the words, but the sentiments were familiar to me.

Smiling, I approached them. "Good morning, little one. Are you a hungry boy?"

At the sound of my voice, he gave a small squeak and Carlos chuckled. "Go see your _Mamá_, _hijito_. I'm going to grab a quick shower, Babe. Did you save me some water?"

I shot him a Burg glare and received a grin and a kiss in response. "Coast is clear for at least thirty minutes. So far nothing."

He nodded, understanding that we were safe for at least that amount of time and I assumed, knowing him well, that he would be out in less than five. I took advantage of the time and fed Jaci until he wouldn't eat anymore. Carlos finished his shower quickly and had gone around to be sure everyone was up before I finished feeding our son.

We packed up quickly and went over to the other RV for a breakfast of eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, pancakes and fruit. I was so glad to be eating hearty breakfast food, I didn't even try to stop the moans from leaving my lips.

Katrine nudged Diesel. "I thought you were joking about that."

My eyes shot to Diesel. _You told her about how I eat?_

He simply grinned at me and kissed Katrine's nose. It still shocked me to see Diesel all…domestic.

I noticed Joe and Jensen sitting together at the table. They were talking in low tones and I wished I had her ability to hear anything and everything, just once. Jensen was in her mid-thirties, about five feet four, athletic in build, with large round breasts, wildly styled short hair dyed in magenta, and dark eyeliner around her amethyst eyes. She looked like a punk rocker, but it suited her. I could tell by the way Joe was looking at her that they had really connected in the past few hours. I wondered how much sleep they'd actually gotten last night…

Jensen was ballsy, tough and cunning. She could also hear anything for miles around, see further into the future than me, and had the strength of ten men. I felt we were damn lucky to have her on the team.

I didn't have a handle on Katrine as to whether or not she was unmentionable. I could have asked Diesel, but I wanted to wait and see. She seemed like a private person, though she was friendly enough. I wanted to see what she was willing to show and felt that this was the right course of action to take with her.

"We leave in thirty minutes, everyone." Batiste announced after checking his watch. "Clean up and pack."

No one argued. Having Batiste on our side was a godsend. He knew all of the Board members and their tactics. It was like having a mini arsenal in our back pockets with him around.

We just had to avoid all of the headhunters and mercenaries who would come after us, as well. There was a price on us and we were in a race against time. We could only hope we were faster than all of them.


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: Standard – JE's stuff belongs to her, I'm just playing with it._

_A/N: Thanks to M&M for the support and proofing. I couldn't make it through this without you!_

********** ********** **********

By the third night, we were all exhausted and ready to be settled in one place for more than just a few hours. Our flight plan consisted of two weeks of hop-skip-and-jumping all over the world. Probably we could have gone straight to our well-hidden compound and no one would have been the wiser. Probably we didn't have to take so many extra precautions and test the group with these silly little side trips. Probably we were being paranoid. Probably wasn't good enough and never would be, not when it came to the safety of our son. Luckily, the whole team agreed with this philosophy, even if they were getting tired…and cranky.

Jensen was dead on her feet and Oliver wasn't far behind. He had been wearing himself out trying to help everyone to have that extra boost of energy. Sleep was a luxury we didn't splurge on. Time was in short supply and we had to spend it wisely. Some would argue that sleep is time well spent. Under most circumstances, I would heartily agree.

Jaci was adapting well to life on the road. I suppose it could be argued that since we didn't really have to deal with 'travel' time, he didn't have an opportunity to get annoyed with being in a car seat for hours. In fact, the only carrier we had for him was a BabyBjörn carrier that Carlos insisted on wearing. It made me all soft and gooey inside to see my husband's muscular expanse of chest with a black baby carrier strapped to it, two little blue-clad legs sticking out of the bottom and a little blue-clad head sticking out of the top.

This morning we arrived at a secluded Caribbean Island. The majority of the group stood together by a palm tree on the beach, waiting as per protocol. Jensen and Diesel were at bat for the security check, but I was considering asking Batiste to switch out the roster. Jensen was pink-cheeked and her eyes were flashing fire. I didn't know what was going on, but one look at Morelli gave me a clue. He didn't look far behind her in the anger department.

I kissed Carlos' cheek and murmured something about checking on everyone. He nodded and focused his attention on Jaci, who was beginning to wake up. "He'll need to be fed soon, Babe."

"Thank you, Carlos." I knew he would need to be fed and I was ready, no reminders necessary.

As I approached Joe, I heard his voice hiss, "So, what? Now I'm not good enough for you because I'm not 'unmentionable'? How about Lynck, is he good enough for you?" Uh oh, jealous Morelli is not a pretty sight. I wanted to get him back to calm cop-faced Morelli quickly.

"Just stay out of my way," Jensen spat at him and disappeared. "And just because you can't see me, doesn't mean I'm not there, so watch your nasty comments, Morelli."

I saw Morelli suck in a quick breath when he realized that she was invisible. I placed a gentle hand on his arm. "That's her specialty, comes in really useful."

He just shook his head and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, "I can't believe this shit."

"Joe, I'm sorry to say it, but if you can't get a handle on this, I'm taking you home." My voice was firm and I meant every word. He knew it, as well, and nodded. "Now, you wanna tell me what's going on here?"

His jaw clenched and he stared out over the blue water. "It's women. You were the same way. Shit. One minute they're soft and pliant in your hands and the next they're as prickly as porcupines and they bite."

I struggled to keep the smile out of my voice when I spoke. "You didn't give her a dumbass nickname, did you?"

He just turned and stared at me.

"Well, you do have the habit!" I said in defense.

"No. We've been chatting the last few nights and getting to know one another…and, well, I kissed her. I couldn't help it. She's just so…frustrating." The muscle in his jaw worked and he blew out a breath.

I rolled my eyes. "Just please tell me you didn't use one of your lame sex excuses on her. You're really bad at finessing, by the way."

He gave me a disbelieving look. "It worked on you!"

"It worked on me because we had history. I knew not to expect more than that from you, Joe! It doesn't work on most women. Not the ones that count." I smirked at him. "Shit, Morelli. You're actually going to have to get some skills if you want to win _that_ girl."

He got a look on his face that said he believed there was a note of truth to what I said. "Oh, believe it, Morelli." I laughed. "You are going to have to work for it. You forget, she can read your mind, too. Wow, this is going to be some journey. Make Grandma Bella proud, Joe. Keep those thoughts pure." I tapped him on the temple and turned to rejoin Carlos and Jaci.

The last couple of stragglers, Oliver and Lynck, arrived and Diesel began walking toward the thick grove of trees to do a security check and find the two cottages we would be using. I saw footprints appear beside him in the sand and new Jensen was with him. I also knew that there was no reason for her to be invisible right now. She could see even further into the future than I could. The invisibility could only be for her benefit. She was hiding from Morelli. Interesting.

"No fair blocking your thoughts from me, Babe." Carlos whispered in my left ear.

I glanced at him. "I have things to think about that don't concern you…or me, for that matter."

"If they don't concern you, why are you thinking them?"

"I just happened on a situation, I'm processing it." I smiled at him and looked down at our squirming son. "I hope they get back soon, I don't really want to feed him out here. Is he warm?"

He shook his head. "I've been standing in the shade. He'll be fine for a few more minutes." His gaze centered on Diesel, who was just entering the grove of trees. "There a reason that Jen is invis?"

I mentally rolled my eyes. "I'm sure she has her reasons."

"I saw that, Babe," he countered. I sighed and rolled my eyes at him. "That, too."

Thirty minutes later, Diesel came sauntering back. He dropped a kiss on top of Katrine's head and made a sweeping motion with his arm. "All clear. Jensen said everyone can relax and take it easy today. She said that we're safe here for at least three days." He glanced over at Batiste. "She thinks leaving the day after tomorrow is early enough."

Batiste nodded. "The future can change at any time. As long as we have Stephanie and Jen keeping the channels open, I'm happy to give it a rest. We'll still have guard duty, but I'm content with Jen's prediction for now."

I pulled Jaci out of his carrier and cuddled him to my chest. As soon as he realized he was in my arms, his little lips and tongue started going. "He takes after you." I said, looking up into Carlos' eyes.

"He knows a good thing when he sees it, Babe." I smacked his arm and walked toward the grove of trees. Carlos put a protective hand at the small of my back. Joe fell into step beside us and Tank soon followed. I felt my eyes beginning to smart at the thought that all of these people had completely put their lives on hold, and would put their lives on the line, just to protect us, just to protect our baby.

"It's humbling when people love you that much." This comment came from Lynck, who had snuck up on us with his catlike movements. Lynck was the master of sneaking…and deep comments.

"Do you?" I looked into his golden eyes. "Love us, I mean?"

"I'm a hard ass. It wouldn't do for me to love anyone." He considered me for a moment before speaking again, "but if I was going to love and get mushy feelings, it wouldn't be a chore to do it for you two…and junior." He bounded off and zipped over to Aric before I could respond. My mouth was hanging open. I could feel it and I couldn't get it closed again.

"Okay. How do you do it, Steph?" Joe asked with nothing but sincerity in his expression. He had his hands tucked into his jeans pockets and his shoulders were hunched forward. "How do you let people in enough to build friendships like that?"

I thought about his question as we approached the nearest cottage. "Well, to get good friends, you have to _be_ a good friend. Be there, be open. Let people inside. Give something of yourself to them. Generally speaking, people don't offer themselves up without getting something from you in return. Just be real, Joe. You're not hard to love. You're hard to hold onto."

Something that resembled pain flashed in his eyes before he tamped it down. His voice was thick when he responded with a quiet, "Thanks." He brushed his lips across my cheek and jogged up the stairs to open the cottage door for me, Carlos and Tank to pass through.

Batiste determined that, based on Jensen's prediction, there would only need to be two guards for the next twenty-four hours, one for each cottage. Tank volunteered to take first watch for our cottage and Lynck took first watch for the other.

I quickly fed Jaci and gave him a sponge bath before slipping him into a cool sleeper and laying him in the travel crib someone had set up for us. He settled down right away and I was grateful because I was dead on my feet. Joe volunteered to keep an eye on him so Carlos and I could get ready for bed. He winked at me as Carlos dragged me into the bathroom behind him. Bless Saint Morelli.

Carlos pulled me into his arms and kissed me deeply. "Babe, I know that you just had a baby three days ago, but since Oliver healed you…"

"Oh God, yes." I thought having a Ranger-induced orgasm was an excellent way to relax before bedtime. His mouth came crashing down onto mine and he quickly stripped both of us of our clothes. His hands caressed and rubbed, stoking up flames of passion within me. By the time he got us into the shower, I was half begging. "Carlos, please don't make me wait."

He lifted me so I could grip his hips with my legs and ride low against him. I'd discovered that it felt amazing to make love from this position. His hands held my hips and my arms gripped his shoulders for leverage. I groaned when he slid inside me, pressing against all the right spots.

I leaned back and pressed my shoulders to the shower wall to give him deeper access, using my knees to hold onto him while he held my hips and caressed me intimately in and out with his erection. He picked up the pace, whispering to me in Spanish, which he always did when his passion was building to the breaking point. As soon as the words started flowing from his lips, though I couldn't understand them, they sent me over the edge and I crashed around him, squeezing and caressing him on wave after wave of pleasure until he lost himself within me with a deep groan.

"I love you, _guapísima_." He whispered, his lips caressing the shell of my ear as he spoke the endearment.

"I love you, Carlos."

We washed quickly, not wanting to waste the hot water that others would be waiting for. When we emerged from the bathroom, Joe laughed out, "That was fast." I sent an Italian hand gesture his way and kicked him out of our bedroom so Carlos and I could get some sleep. On the way in, I noticed that Jensen was in the living room with a scowl on her face and Diesel was grinning from ear to ear with Katrine on his lap. I suspected _someone_ was playing matchmaker and Jensen wasn't feeling appreciative of the gesture.

Seeing Diesel with Katrine reminded me that I needed to have a long conversation with that man. The whole 'Diesel is married' thing was so out of the blue last year after the Kelvina episode. Following that debacle and the torture he had received at the hands of his cousin, Wulf, Diesel had been off the radar for months, apparently serious about the sabbatical and about repairing the relationship with his wife.

Meeting Katrine would have been awkward, but she's simply an amazing person. She's kind and considerate. She laughs when she feels like laughing and shows compassion to everyone around her. She really was a beauty. She looked like a beach beauty queen pageant winner. The only thing she was missing was the string bikini and suntan oil. I really liked her and I was glad that Diesel had someone to hold onto. Every great – and even annoying – man deserves a great woman by his side.

Carlos shut the door behind Joe and pulled me into the bed with him, spooning against me from behind, his muscular arm protective around my waist, and his lips pressing goodnight kisses behind my ear. In a matter of minutes, I drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep.

I was jarred awake in the middle of the night by our bedroom door being slammed open. Jaci, startled awake, began to cry. Carlos was off the bed immediately, his weapon drawn.

"Don't shoot me, Ranger." Tank called out. "Joe, go grab Steph's arm. Steph, get out of here. Next location."

I sat up. "Let me have Jaci." Tank had picked him up and was soothing him.

"Get Joe out of here. I'm right behind you with the baby." I felt Joe's hand close around my arm and Tank disappeared with my baby.

"Shit!" I yelled and visualized the next rendezvous point. We materialized in a little Asian house I knew to be located in Okinawa, Japan. The home belonged to Batiste's uncle.

Joe and I stood, side by side, for what seemed like ages. I was just starting to feel the rise of panic within my chest when Carlos appeared with Katrine held tight to him, looking pale and worried.

Carlos' eyes snapped to mine. "Where's Tank?"

"He left before me. He should have been here!" Dread filled my gut and I no longer had the strength to stand. "He's got my baby!" I moaned out. Then louder, I shouted, "He's fucking got my baby!"

Carlos was beside me in an instant with his arms around me. "Shh, Babe. We don't know what happened. You know Tank would never let anything happen to our son."

I could barely hear him. My mind was racing. _Where could they be? Why didn't he make it here? Was he confused? Did he go to the next destination and skip this one?_ My heartbeats were studded with fear that pierced me deeply each time my heart mechanically did its job. The next destination was in a very cold climate and Jaci hadn't been bundled up. It felt off to me. Tank wouldn't have forgotten the plan, we all had it ingrained in our heads.

I was shaken from my thoughts by the arrival of two more members. Jensen and Diesel. Katrine shrieked and ran over to him, burying her face in his chest. I heard him murmur some words to her that sounded like German. She was shaking and crying and replied to him in the same language. I had no idea what they were saying.

I decided I had my answer about whether or not Katrine was unmentionable or not. I was surprised to hear her speaking German, though I wasn't surprised to hear Diesel speak the language. I knew the Swiss spoke German, French and Italian. I didn't know what part of Switzerland he was from, but one of our destinations was Wengen, a little village near Interlaken, and I would be willing to lay odds that Diesel was from that area.

"Okay, does anyone know what happened to Tank and our baby?" I said in a shrill voice after a few moments. I received troubled stares back as an answer. "Carlos! We have to find them! We have to find our baby. What could have happened?" I could feel hysteria taking over and I no longer cared to stay calm. We'd fought so hard to protect my pregnancy, to keep our baby. How could it be that we fought so hard to have him only to lose him after three days?

Carlos pulled me into a fierce grip. I knew this was worrying him, as well, but he was remaining strong for me. He was whispering to me in Spanish, stroking my hair and rocking me side to side to calm me down, but I wasn't having it. I shoved out of his grasp and shouted, "No! No calming me down, Carlos! We're going out there and we're going to find him. _Now_!"

"Okay, Babe. I agree we need to look, but we need to take a minute and plan this out." He was speaking slowly, trying to make me see reason, but I could only see red. I could only feel the blood rushing through my body doing double time. I could only hear the fear running through my mind. "Babe, half of the team didn't make it here. We need to think and strategize for a minute. Please. Help us. Think about Jaci, see if you can see anything."

"It doesn't work that way, Carlos. I can only tell you about the future of _this_ place. I can't tell you about the future of another location." I felt hopeless. I had a gift that could be so useful, but it had enough limitations that it could be completely useless at times, such as now.

Jensen took a small step forward. "Mine works differently. I might be able to help, but I need something of Jaci's to touch."

I had started to feel hopeful until she reached the end of her sentence. "We don't have anything. We didn't have time to pack. We don't even have his bed." I felt tears hit my cheeks, which seemed odd because I didn't remember my eyes tearing up at all. I blinked and more tears fell.

"I'll go back and get what I can, Babe."

"No, I can't lose you, too!" I said, gripping his arm.

"Babe, I'll go in, freeze time, and get what I need. I know how to keep people from blocking my powers now. I'm the best candidate for this job." He stroked my cheek and looked into my eyes. I knew he was right. We needed something of Jaci's and he was the best one for the job.

I nodded slowly. "Okay, but if you're not back in fifteen minutes, I'm coming after you."

"Give me twenty so I don't have to rush and you've got a deal." He said with a loving smile.

"Okay, twenty." He kissed me and then disappeared.

********** ********** **********

_A/N: Okay all, I am going away for the weekend. Chapter five won't be posted until probably Monday at the latest. I will try for Sunday, but Monday is more likely. Thanks for reading and thanks for the comments. They really do encourage me to keep writing, even when I get busy or sleepy! :)_


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: Standard – JE's stuff belongs to her, I'm just playing with it._

_A/N: Sorry for the confusion with the chapter numbers. I got frustrated with the numbers not matching up to ff's numbering system, so I changed the numbers so they match. As always, thanks to Rangerhunters for their support and for being great betas!_

********** ********** **********

_Stephanie's POV_

"If Carlos can freeze time, won't he freeze us?" Morelli asked.

"Unmentionable abilities aren't like that. We can't control the whole world at once." Diesel started to explain. "We can only control our current location. He will be able to freeze time on that island, but there is a range of limitation and outside that range, the world goes on in a normal fashion."

Joe looked perplexed. "Then what happens when time resumes? Is that area behind everywhere else?"

Diesel ran a hand through his hair. It was a gesture I wasn't used to seeing him make. "No, when time resumes, it resumes at the same place it would have been if the freeze never happened. The clocks even reflect this. Some people view freezing time as this 'get out of trouble' card. It is, to a certain extent, but not in others." Diesel explained.

"Give me an example of when it isn't." Joe was looking genuinely interested in the topic.

"Okay, say you don't want to go to work. So you decide that, instead of hitting the snooze, you're going to freeze time. In theory, you just bought yourself all the time in the world to goof off, right?" The twinkle was back in Diesel's eye. "The correct answer is: wrong. You can freeze time and goof off all you want, but when you release your hold on time, it will be whatever time it's supposed to be. So, if you froze it for ten minutes, it will be ten minutes later according to the clocks when you release your hold. If it was five hours, it would be five hours later."

"So, you're not really freezing time, then." Morelli observed.

"Correct! You're just stopping all activity and making it really slow so the bad guys can't catch you. No one can affect actual time. There's this whole gravitational, orbiting around the sun, space-time continuum that is absolute. No unmentionable is powerful enough to control the planetary movements." Diesel was smiling broadly by this point.

"Let me get this straight…" Joe began pacing. "If you freeze time and you're the only one who is actually living in 'real time' during the whole thing, what happens to other people when you unfreeze them?"

"Unfortunately, their day picks up right when you release it. So, ten, twenty, or sixty minutes into the future." Diesel wrinkled his nose slightly. "They lose that time, never to get it back. It's the reason that we don't like to really do this in public places if we can help it. We have to weigh the odds against the consequences and make a judgment call on whether or not it is justifiable."

"Damn," was all Joe said. I agreed with him. It was a lot to take in. Sometimes it still boggled my mind.

"What are you, Diesel, a physicist? They didn't tell me all of this when they trained me." I asked, edging past him.

"Well, there are a lot of things I can't do; there are a lot of things I can do, but not very well; and there are many things I _can_ do really well, but you don't know about them." His eyes were dancing when I looked at him.

"Are you telling me that you can freeze time?"

He was silent for a moment, regarding me. "Yes."

"Then why the _hell_ didn't you go and help my husband look for my child?" I shouted.

By the look on his face, I could see he hadn't considered this would be my reaction when he answered me. He sighed. "What could I do? Freeze him in his time freeze? What good would it do? Personally, I'd rather be here so I can freeze time to get us out of a bind if it is needed. We still have to keep you safe."

I hated to admit it, but he was right. There is no such thing as a tandem time freeze. He wouldn't have been much help and he and Carlos would have just frozen one or the other or both. I nodded to Diesel. "You're right, sorry. This just sucks." I glanced at him through my lashes. "So, what else can you do that you haven't told me?"

My only answer was a big grin, so I rolled my eyes and started pacing the length of the room. I checked my watch and noted that Carlos had two minutes to return. When there was only one minute to go, all of us were pacing. At ten seconds, I closed my eyes and started to open up my mind so I could visualize the Caribbean island we'd left when I heard, "Babe."

I opened my eyes and saw my husband standing before me with Jaci's diaper bag and the dismantled travel crib, which had been shoved haphazardly into its carry bag. The sight of my baby's things broke my resolve and I fell to my knees in anguish, broken sobs escaping through my lips. Carlos dropped everything and rushed to me, scooping me up into his arms and settling us down onto a chair. He held me close, kissing and caressing my hair and face.

Jenson hurried over and grabbed the outfit she knew he had been wearing yesterday when we'd arrived at the island. She went through a room divider screen on the far wall and into the next room so she could have some privacy.

"We're going to find him, Babe. Keep the faith." Carlos whispered. "Just keep the faith."

I buried my face in his neck. "It's easy to _say_ it, Carlos. Execution proves to be more difficult." His arms tightened and I felt him draw in a shuddering breath. It said everything he couldn't, or wouldn't, say. "He's going to be hungry soon, Carlos. We didn't have any formula or bottles. We didn't plan this very well."

I sat up and took a deep breath, meeting his gaze. "Having me as his sole food source is great and convenient _if_ he's with me. But now he's not…and wherever they are, they have to risk going out into the open to get food for our son. We don't even know if they're all still together. We know nothing!"

His eyes caressed mine lovingly. "He's with Tank, he's safe and Tank will see to his needs."

About ten minutes later, the room divider slid open and Jensen walked through. I stopped and stared at her, holding my breath and afraid to ask. She blew out a breath. "I didn't see anything bad, but I didn't see anything helpful, either."

I pressed my lips together. She was trying. Everyone was trying. I knew Tank had Jaci and that was mildly comforting. Not as comforting as if Carlos or I had him, but it was as close to comfort as I could get under the circumstances.

"What we need," Diesel said as he walked over to Jensen and pulled Jaci's sleeper out of her hands, "is someone who can see the past." I watched him with narrowed eyes when he fingered the blue and white fabric. He looked up at me, gave me a wink and then tossed the sleeper to his wife. "Wanna give it a go?"

I blinked. I had been wrong about Katrine. She looked at me sheepishly. Her cheeks were red and she shrugged slightly. "Diesel and I can go back. He can freeze time and I can see what went wrong. It seems that everyone who has information about what happened is not here now. This is too much of a coincidence."

My Spidey sense was tingling like crazy. Everything pointed to an inside job. We couldn't trust someone on the team and that was the worst feeling ever since Jaci was nowhere to be found and he was the one in the greatest danger. "I agree. I don't like to think about what this means, but it's time to look at all possible angles."

I felt Carlos clench his fists and I detected quiet muttering in Spanish flowing from his mouth. I decided to leave him to it at the moment. We all needed to think and decide who we were willing to trust.

Joe looked around the room and then put his hands up in resignation. "Hold on here. _Now_ you think that someone…" The reality of the situation hit him and he lowered his hands. Watching his face was like watching the porch light switch on. "Well…shit."

I slumped against Carlos and gave an exhausted nod, burying my face in my hands. Who could it be? Which one of my closest friends was I going to have to point a finger at? How could this be happening? The questions swirled in my mind and threatened to steal my sanity.

"We're going to go. Perhaps we can find some clues that will help us figure out who the rat is." Diesel slid an arm around Katrine's waist and they disappeared out of the room.

Carlos looked around me to Jensen. "You rested?"

She nodded. "Take her into the other bedroom. I'll keep watch."

I looked at the two of them and stood. "Nuh-uh. Don't start talking about me like I'm not here." I put my hands on my hips and looked between the two of them.

"Babe, I was just thinking that we could just rest and talk, strategize. Would you come with me?" He held out his hand. Somehow I knew he was being sneaky, but I didn't have the energy or the heart to turn him down. This was hard on him, too. He looked forlorn and worried. He needed me and I needed him.

"Carlos, I just feel like we should be doing something. Looking for him…out there, somewhere…"

"Babe, I would love to. If we leave this place, we'll put him in more danger. I don't want anyone to know that we don't have him with us." He slid his hand up to the back of my neck and gently massaged the tension there.

I nodded and took his hand. "Call us as soon as something changes," I called over to Jensen.

She sat on the small couch in the center of the room. Carlos slid open the room divider and pressed me inside with a hand at the small of my back. He followed behind me and slid the divider closed and then laid on the bed, pulling me down into his arms. He wrapped himself around me, holding me tightly.

For a while we just breathed in tandem, in and out, not talking or thinking, just feeling. When he spoke, it was with a soft, velvety voice that soothed over my frazzled nerves. "So, what is your Spidey Sense saying, Babe?"

********** ********** **********

_Joe's POV_

I watched the dividing screen slide closed behind Stephanie and Ranger and dropped into the chair nearest me. Jensen was absorbed in her own thoughts on the couch across from me with a "do not approach" look written all over her face.

I snuck glances at her from time to time, noticing the way her long black lashes fanned against her light apricot skin tone. Her features were flawless. Big violet eyes rested in a small heart-shaped face, making her look like a pixie. Her dark pinkish purple hair was blown up and out in a wild style that reminded me of some Japanese Animé characters I had seen on TV. The style suited her personality: uninhibited and free, out there for everyone to see, and making no apologies.

Her small mouth was pursed in concentration so that her full, pouty lips were in a partial pucker. My gaze settled on them and my mouth went dry. I was suddenly remembering why I had kissed her in the first place. It was her lips. They begged to be kissed. I felt my pulse begin to pound when I remembered how she had tasted, spicy and sweet, like cinnamon, only better.

"Don't even think about it or I'll knock you into next week, Morelli," she murmured. I looked up and saw her looking at me, wary with her shoulders set in anger.

I had a comeback on the tip of my tongue when Stephanie's words from yesterday halted me. "Make Grandma Bella proud, Joe. Keep those thoughts pure."_ Fuck. I mean, shit. I mean…dammit! _"Wouldn't dream of it. Are you thirsty?"

She cocked a perfectly shaped light brown eyebrow at me. "Water. Thanks."

Sending a nod her way, I stood and went to the kitchen, noting that the standard list of staples was in stock. I reached into the fridge and pulled out two bottles of water. I looked through its contents and then in the cupboards to see what food we had available to us. There were cans of soup, a couple boxes of crackers, canned tuna and chicken, boxes of macaroni and cheese, canned vegetables, and dried soup mixes that only required a pot and some water. Nothing spectacular, but enough to survive on for a while.

I felt, rather than heard, Jensen approaching me through the doorway. I turned around and gave her a questioning glance, holding her water out to her. "I thought you were bringing the water to me, not the other way around."

I smiled politely. "You know what they say about Mohammed and the mountain."

She snorted. "Which is the mountain…you or the water?"

"Jury's still out." I rubbed the back of my neck and looked around. "Should I make something to eat? We didn't exactly get breakfast."

Jensen looked in the refrigerator and the cupboards and tapped her chin in thought. "I don't think there's anything in here you can mess up."

I felt my anger flare up before I could tamp it down. "What makes you think I would mess any of it up? I happen to be a very good cook."

She stared at me with amusement in her eyes. "Okay, poor choice of words. I guess you could make an _average_ meal out of all this stuff. I just think I could do better."

"Fine. Do better." I turned on my heel and stormed out of the room. _Dammit_! How did she do it? I was perfectly normal one minute and a raging bull the next. I had no control over my emotions where she was concerned. I thought I was bad when I dated Stephanie, but this frustrating woman brought a whole new meaning to the word _uncontrollable_. Just the thought of that word brought sensual images to my mind that had me hard instantly. _Shit_! I needed to stop that, too.

"What the hell is your problem, Morelli?" Jensen called from behind me.

I slowly turned around and stalked toward her. "You are my problem, Little Miss 'My Shit Doesn't Stink'."

I could tell immediately that I'd gone too far. Her eyes, once a deep amethyst color, were now red with rage and her cheeks were flushed with anger that was about to be unleashed on me. "What did you just call me?" Her voice belied the turbulence brewing in her eyes.

"You heard me."

"Listen here, you chauvinistic maggot! I'm _sure_ there are some things you do very well. True, I haven't been witness to any of them, yet, but I certainly don't think that I'm _perfect_!" The words seethed out between her perfectly straight white teeth and her eyes narrowed until her lovely eyelashes had enshrouded the irises and nearly hid them from view. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen…and I was fucking this up.

I sighed and held a hand up. "Look, for what it's worth, I'm sorry." My voice was quiet. I didn't have the energy or the mental stamina to argue with her. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and kiss her until we both forgot the stupid argument, but for once, I wanted to do it right. I just seemed to be doing it all wrong no matter what I did.

I sighed and sank into the armchair and put my head back, closing my eyes. I'd feel better after a nap. Just a little one so I could forget the stupid things I had just done. Yes, I _could_ do Stephanie Plum's style of denial.

I could feel Jensen's eyes on me. "Sit down, I won't bite." I opened my eyes and gave her my best friendly smile.

She opened her mouth to respond, but before any sound came out, Diesel and Katrine appeared. As soon as they materialized, Katrine collapsed in a heap on the floor. Diesel's face was pale and there was a stream of blood running down the side of his face from a cut above his left eyebrow.

He was angry and worried. "We need Oliver! Something happened to her and I can't…I don't know how to help her."


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: Standard – JE's stuff belongs to her, I'm just playing with it._

_A/N: Sorry it has taken so long to get this up. Had a crazy week this past week. Chapter seven is already with my **wonderful **betas, so I'll hopefully get it posted mid-week. Let me know if you like the direction this is heading. My characters have spoken for themselves in this chapter. I had nothing to do with it, I swear!_

********** ********** **********

_Stephanie's POV_

"I'm thinking that I've _never_ had a reason not to trust Tank, but he didn't give me Jaci when I asked him. I'm sorry, Carlos, but it's shaken my confidence. Now he's missing and he has our baby…" I hated to admit what I was feeling, but I wanted to voice my thoughts aloud. I wanted Carlos to refute what I was saying. I wanted him to set my mind at ease and tell me that Jaci was perfectly safe. The only way for him to do that was to tell him what I was thinking.

"Babe, trust me, Tank would never, ever betray us." I sensed him holding back and started searching through his mind for a clue, but he was effectively blocking me. He'd gotten better at it. I'd been happy when I could see inside his mind when I'd first discovered this ability. It had given me insight into Carlos that I hadn't had before I'd found out I was an unmentionable.

When he started learning how to block the intrusion, we went back to the guessing game. The only consolation was that I was better at ESP and he was more open with me, in general. Now, it bothered me that he was not letting me see his thoughts when normally we had an unspoken agreement that we wouldn't do that to each other…granted, I had done it to him earlier.

"Why are you blocking me, what aren't you telling me?" I finally asked him.

He looked into my eyes for a moment. "I don't want to lie to you, so I am going to tell you the truth. But you're going to be angry. Just…Babe, please remember that Oliver isn't here right now and he can't heal me if you hurt me."

Immediately, I felt my anger rise and I jumped up from the bed to stand over him with my hands on my hips. "So help me, Carlos, if you are keeping something from me about Jaci, I will never forgive you!"

He stood and walked over to me to place his hands on my shoulders in a calming gesture, but I was having nothing to do with it. I swatted his hands away and stepped back, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at him. "Babe, please…"

"Carlos, I mean it. How could you? This shows a complete lack of trust in me that you have never shown since we've been working as a team. I can't think of a reason you wouldn't tell me about this, a reason that you would let me suffer so deeply…I keep myself guarded, no one can penetrate my thoughts…" I pressed my hands to my temples as a headache started to form.

"Stephanie…"

"No, take me to my son. Right now." I looked at him. My heart was breaking. He had hurt me more than I had ever believed could be possible at this stage in our relationship.

"I can't."

"Can't or won't?"

"Our every movement is tracked. Tank and I decided that if he took Jaci to a safe place, no one would find him. You and I would continue to be followed, but they wouldn't get him." Carlos' eyes were pleading with me to understand, but I just couldn't.

"You and Tank decided?! What about the fact that I nurse him? Are we just forgetting about that?" My breasts were already starting to ache from the need to nurse him. I knew I would be in agony soon. "You didn't even take my discomfort into consideration, did you?"

The look on his face said it all. My conscience told me in all fairness he had no idea about nursing, but it didn't lessen my anger. "Figure this out, Carlos. I have a lot of thinking to do." I slid open the divider and stomped into the main room and gasped at Diesel, looking pale and wounded, kneeling over an unconscious and deathly looking Katrine.

"What happened?" I asked, running to his side.

"We were attacked by something…horrible." He gasped. "I don't know what it did to her. I could hear her screaming…"

"It's okay, Diesel." I felt Carlos at my side. I had to push my anger aside for Diesel and Katrine for now. "Ranger, try to call Oliver. We need him here."

I saw the line of his mouth tighten when I called him Ranger. Whether or not he liked it, we were Ranger and Stephanie again. I couldn't feel emotionally intimate with him when he wouldn't trust me.

He flipped open his phone and pressed a button. "Yeah. We need Oliver. Can you get in contact with him?" He closed his phone and I felt a sharp stab of betrayal hit my chest.

"You just called him, didn't you?" I asked without looking at him.

He didn't say anything. He didn't have to. As far as I was concerned, we were broken and I wasn't certain we could be fixed.

********** ********** **********

_Joe's POV_

One look at Stephanie and I knew there was trouble in paradise. She looked like a cross between a wounded tiger and a raging rhinoceros. I wasn't sure which would win out, but I was sure that Ranger had caused it, especially when she _called_ him Ranger. I hadn't heard her call him that once in the year they'd been married. He didn't look happy about it, either.

"Who did you call?" I asked.

Ranger just shook his head. Typical. I rolled my eyes and walked over to Diesel. "What did it do to you?"

He gave a small shake of his head and caressed her hair back from her face. "I can't remember, I blacked out and woke to her unconscious." I watched as he visibly trembled. Whatever had happened had been terrifying for him. I couldn't fathom how awful it would be to hear the woman you love screaming that way and not being able to do a damn thing about it. Even the thought of something like that happening to Jensen sent my blood boiling through my veins.

_Whoa, Morelli._ I thought with a shake of my head. _Where the hell did that come from?_

"Oliver will be here soon." Ranger said quietly.

I watched as Stephanie didn't acknowledge his words, but sat in stony silence beside Diesel, one hand on his back in support.

"Okay, so what's wrong with you two, then?" I looked from Ranger to Stephanie and back again. He, of course, did not acknowledge my question even minimally. No surprise there. What did surprise me was Stephanie not acknowledging my question, either.

I felt Jensen behind me. I always felt her near and then I smelled her, that faint spicy, musky scent that drove me to insanity. "Too nosy for your own good, Morelli."

Annoyance crept up within me, but I held it back. "Believe it or not, I'm trying to be helpful."

"Not worth it. They'll either work it out or they won't." She said it just loud enough for me to hear. "Diesel and Katrine's situation is more important than one that needs time."

I looked down at the floor and gave a slight shake of my head. "You're right." I stared into her amethyst eyes, captivated for a beat, and then glanced down at Diesel. He was stroking Katrine's hair and whispering to her. I never thought I would see that guy in desperate love, but that's what I was seeing. He was desperate to get the woman he loved back into his arms and well and safe. "Do you remember anything about what attacked you?"

His eyes never left Katrine's face as he spoke, "It just went dark. Deadly dark. Then I heard her screaming…" He took a moment to collect himself. "Something hit my head and I went out. When I woke, she was just laying there and I was next to her on the floor in the cottage."

"Did you hear any strange noises when she was screaming?" Ranger asked in a soft voice.

Diesel lifted his head in thought for a moment. "I heard a low hum. It reminded me of a furnace. Then I felt a blast of cold air right before I got hit."

Ranger's eyes changed as soon as Diesel mentioned the furnace. He glanced down at Stephanie, who was still refusing to look at him, and compressed his lips together. Looking somewhat defeated, he walked back into the room he'd previously occupied and slid the divider shut.

"Steph?" I asked.

"Leave it alone, Joe. I can't go there right now." Something was up, she sounded broken in a way I'd never heard.

"This has to do with Jaci, doesn't it?" I knew only something to do with Jaci could change her like that. I turned my head and stared at the divider Ranger had slipped behind.

She just turned her head and stayed near Diesel. I heard Jensen call my name as I walked toward the divider, but I chose not to hear her. I was going to have a talk with the big badass, unmentionable or not.

He gave me an annoyed glance as I walked through. He was on the phone, but I would wait it out. I stood in front of the panel with my arms crossed, my expression dark. I could let go of Stephanie from my life. We didn't work well together, but she was my friend and this asshole had hurt her deeply. I intended to have it out with Ranger.

He snapped his phone closed and looked over at me, mirroring my stance. "Manoso, looks like you have some explaining to do."

"And you're not the one I have to explain it to." His voice was quiet, cautious.

"No, I don't expect you to divulge any information. It's not like you ever did before. I just wanted to let you know that I didn't walk away from her so you could tear her down." My hands went to my hips of their own volition.

He gave me a half smile. "What do you think you're going to do about it, Morelli?"

"I'm not saying I can take you. It's not like I have _super_powers or anything. I'm telling you to be a man. I know my friend loves you and for whatever asinine reason, you've broken her heart." I could practically feel the heat rising off my head as I spoke. "I've never seen her look as broken as I have today. This is you."

I saw resignation flicker in his eyes before he turned away from me and stared out the window. "You don't know what's going on, Morelli. Jensen is right. This is none of your business." He turned his head back toward me slightly, without looking at me, and said, "You can leave now."

Clenching my teeth tightly together, I shrugged and left the room. I avoided Jensen's smartass smirk as I headed to the kitchen. Might as well fix some _mediocre_ food while we were here.

"It's not attractive to pout." I heard Jensen say behind me.

"Who says I'm pouting?"

"You're still upset about the food comment." I looked at her and she had a small, amused smile on her lips.

I faced her, ready for another confrontation, if necessary. Ranger had pissed me off. "I'm a good cook, but there's not much to be done with dried, boxed food."

"Fair enough." She said and left the kitchen.

What was it about her that got me so agitated? I opened the cupboard door to grab a box of macaroni and cheese out when I heard a loud crack from the living room that sounded like wood snapping. I ran out and found a large man standing over Stephanie, who was lying on the floor. His hands were out in front of him, over her and suddenly she started screaming.

He had long black hair that was braided at the base of his skull and hung down to his lower back. He wore black scale armor and had claws on his fingers instead of fingernails. His forehead reminded me of Frankenstein with its shape and his lips were chiseled and firmly set in a sinister sneer. A long earring with some sort of insignia dangling at the bottom hung from one ear and he had his eyebrow pierced with a black barbell.

The divider screen flew open and Ranger ran out, a look of sheer terror on his face. "Drognan!"

The man didn't even flinch. He kept his black gaze focused on Stephanie. Her screams were changing and becoming louder and more desperate. Without thinking, I launched myself between his hands and Stephanie. With a loud yell of pain, he flew backward across the room and slammed into the wall.

"Everyone, grab each other!" Ranger yelled. Jensen ran over and clamped a hand onto Diesel, who had Katrine in his arms, and another hand onto my arm as I lay on top of Stephanie. Drognan was starting to shake his head and Ranger came over, clamped a hand down onto my shoulder, and then my vision started swirling.

"Get up." Ranger said. I looked around, but the room looked like it was swimming, yet we weren't.

"Did you just freeze time?" I yelled. Yelling seemed like a good option. I couldn't get a handle on my stomach.

"Yes and get over it quickly, Morelli, because we don't have time to clean up your puke." He shot at me as he scooped Steph up into his arms. "Everyone grab someone and go. Next destination, Diesel." He disappeared and Jensen came over and grabbed my arm and we reappeared in a cozy little living room with a roaring fire blazing.

I looked around and saw Diesel arrive with Katrine in his arms. Ranger, with Stephanie in his arms, was standing in front of me. Stephanie was moaning, but starting to come around.

Shuddering, I sat in one of the overstuffed brown leather chairs in front of the fire. There was a bearskin rug on the floor, several oil lamps around the room with bright colored oil in all the shades of the rainbow, and a couple of overstuffed leather chairs and a couple of dark oak dining chairs. The floors were bare wood, but well sanded and stained dark. It was a cozy little place. I looked at the windows, which seemed unnaturally white and noticed that it was snowing hard outside. Large, soft white flakes were speeding down from the sky.

I glanced around at everyone, noting that Diesel, Ranger and Jensen were staring at me. "Please tell me we don't have to chop wood."

Ranger was the first to recover. "You have no idea what happened, do you?"

"I know I was damn lucky, but I couldn't take her screaming anymore." I said quietly.

Ranger nodded and set Stephanie down in the chair beside mine. She was staring at me, as well. "What are you talking about?"

Ranger looked at her, clenching his jaw when she wouldn't meet his gaze. "Joe jumped between Drognan's hands and yours."

"Thank you, Joe." She said. She looked at Diesel. "Who is Drognan?"

"Shit, Stephanie!" Ranger yelled and jammed his hands onto his hips. "Guess what? If you want to know, you need to talk to me. I'm the one that knows him."

She was still looking at Diesel, who nodded and focused his attention back on Katrine. "So help me, Ranger, you'll talk anyway. I want to know what he did to my wife."

Ranger was staring at Stephanie. Stephanie was looking at her hands. Jensen was still staring at me. "You…"

"What the hell is going on?" I shouted and stood. Everyone looked at me.

Anger evident in his face, Ranger turned red. "You're the fucking key, Morelli."

Stephanie did look at Ranger, then, as did everyone in the room. "What do you mean I'm the key?" I asked in confusion.

"I mean," he began, "that you are the one who is the key to ending Drognan's powers. You're the key to saving Katrine. You're the key to healing Stephanie from what she's already lost to him."

"What did I lose to him?" Stephanie asked meekly.

"A part of your soul you don't want released, Babe." He said quietly.

We all looked at him in confusion. "Wait, wait!" I said and began to pace the length of the room. "What do you mean by telling me that I'm the 'key'? What kind of key could I be?"

"I mean," he said angrily, "that you are the only person in the world who has the power to destroy him."

I just stared at him with my face twisted in disbelief. "I don't have powers."

"Apparently you do," Jensen said from my left. I turned to look at her.

"What do you mean?"

"You threw off a force field of some type. It reflected his powers back onto him. It stunned him." She explained. Her eyes were searching mine. "I don't know about this 'key' thing, but you did disarm him."

Ranger sat down and rubbed his hands over his face. "The unmentionable world has some dark secrets. One of those secrets is the fact that there are immortal beings. You all know that most unmentionables are human with ultra human abilities." We all nodded and he sighed. "There are unmentionables that are not human. When these creatures exist, they exist in opposites. For one evil, there is an equal and opposite good. They cancel each other out."

"That looked like a man to me." I said.

"That was no man." Ranger said. "Anyway, they can exist without each other, but in order for that to happen, one has to kill the other." Now he was staring straight at me.

I gave him a 'what do you want' gesture when the reality of what he was saying struck me. "Are you saying you think it's my job to kill this guy?" He gave a slight nod. "I don't have powers. Did you see what he was doing?" Now I was standing and my Italian arms were doing their own thing.

Jensen stood and walked over to me. "Don't you wonder why you weren't hurt when you dove under him?"

"Do you know about this guy?" I asked her.

"Not like Ranger, but I've heard of them. I know enough to tell you he's right." She stared at me for a moment. "Well, looks like you got your wish, Joe. You're more unmentionable than any of us could ever hope to be."


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: Standard – JE's stuff belongs to her, I'm just playing with it._

_A/N: Oh my gosh! BIG, big thanks to M&M for dissecting this chapter for me. It wouldn't be what it was without you ladies! You two are editing goddesses!_

********** ********** **********

_Joe's POV_

I looked at Jensen as if I'd never seen her before. "What the hell are you talking about?"

She grinned mischievously. "You're the light to his dark. The right to his wrong. The yin to his yang."

"This is making no sense to me. I don't have any powers." I threw my hands up in frustration. "Is this some kind of joke?"

Ranger just shook his head and flipped open his phone. "Where is Oliver? Tell him we're at numero cinco. I need Batiste here ASAP. We have a problem with Morelli."

"There's no problem with me!" I couldn't help the fact that my voice raised a notch. I'm Italian. We get loud when we're agitated. I was extremely agitated at this point.

"Listen, whether or not you want to believe it, Morelli, you're the key to this whole fucking mess. You're the one who can save Stephanie and Jaci…and me." He was staring at me with a mixture of amazement and annoyance. I couldn't help but smirk.

"Hang on…so you're saying you need me to save your _super hero _ass?" I can't say I didn't enjoy watching his fists clench and the muscles in his jaw twitch. How many times in the past year alone had we been in reverse positions? To have the upper hand over the mighty Manoso…I was going to enjoy this. And of course I would do what I could. Still… "I think you are all pulling my leg."

Ranger took a slow, even breath and let it out just as slowly. Calming technique. "Babe?"

No response. I have never seen Stephanie this angry with anyone, let alone her husband whom she loves to distraction. I decided to test the theory. I raised my hands toward Ranger, the way I had seen Drognan do to Stephanie and said, "Tell me what you did." I almost laughed at the idiocy of my actions.

Before my eyes, he changed. His eyes were fighting, but his mouth opened. "I sent Tank away with Jaci to protect him _and_ Stephanie. We found out they were tracking her to get to him. If they were separated, they couldn't locate him. If he isn't with her, they have no reason to harm her. It was a great plan until she figured it out and let her maternal instincts overrule her logic."

_What the hell?_ I lowered my arms and looked around the room at the shocked faces that mirrored my own. "Shit, I just made him talk, didn't I?"

Nods greeted me all around. I looked at Ranger. He was pissed. Beyond pissed. In fact, if I wasn't so sure that he wouldn't hurt me right now, I might be afraid of him. I turned to Stephanie. "And this is why you're angry with him?"

She had tears on her cheeks and she nodded, not looking at anyone. Ranger's hands were twitching with the desire to comfort her, but he didn't dare approach her. I looked from one to the other. "Steph…I guess you have to decide how bad you want this hurt to affect you. That will take time." She nodded again.

I looked at Ranger. "You'll give her the time she needs to figure it out."

He nodded roughly.

"Okay, so how do we get these guys?"

"First, you talk to Batiste. You need to understand how to use your abilities…and about what you are," Ranger explained. "Unfortunately, the training facility isn't available to us and I'm not even sure it would work for you."

"Right. About that…am I to assume I can make anything happen just because I want it to?"

He gave me a wary look. "Pretty much, but…there are things you should know."

"Which is why I need to talk to Batiste?"

He acknowledged with a slight tilt of his head.

"This still feels like a joke. I don't feel any different." I sat down, feeling tired and _normal_.

Ranger went into deep thought for a moment. "Okay, why don't you just try to imagine yourself as something you've always wanted to be…but this time, don't wish. Just know you will be whatever it is."

I tossed that thought around in my head for a few seconds, fantasizing over the many possibilities. What could I possibly be that I wasn't already? I realized that there is a lot more pressure to think of something good when you realize you could actually become the thing you wish for. I was about to give up and just think of anything when I remembered something my Grandma Bella had told me when I was ten.

I was ten years old and sitting beside her on the couch in her living room watching a Bob Hope special on television. She was patting my hand and suddenly, during a commercial break, she turned to me and said, "Joseph, you must always remember that you are my angel of light. You were from the moment you were born. Don't let the darkness around you steal your soul. You're a good boy and you'll do good things. You just remember it."

I closed my eyes and decided to be the angel of light my Grandma Bella had always seen in me. She had repeated those words to me so many times over the years that I had used them as a type of mantra whenever I found myself in a dark situation. Even when it seemed that I had chosen a dark path a time or two, she would remind me that I was good. And I had always believed her.

I felt warmth flood my body and my skin tingled. When I opened my eyes, every person in the room was on the floor covering their eyes and cowering away from me. I looked down and saw that my skin was radiant, though my clothing hadn't changed. Not just radiant: I was giving off white light unlike anything I had ever seen before. I swiped my hand in front of my eyes and a trail of light fragments lingered in the air long after I had lowered my hand. It was like a fog, clinging to the airspace around me.

I walked from one end of the room to the other and back. The light was dispersing throughout the small area, slowly moving around like a fine mist, only it moved upward instead of settling down to the floor. On a whim, I blew a stream of air at it and it swirled and spread throughout the room. As the mist of light covered Katrine, I heard her moan.

Diesel stood, keeping his arm up to shield his eyes from the radiance of my light, and made his way over to Katrine. "_Liebste_, can you wake up?"

Remembering what Ranger had said, I walked over to her and placed my hand on her forehead. "Katrine," I called to her. "Wake up, Katrine."

She moaned softly. There was something I needed to do, but I couldn't tell what it was. _There has to be a way for me to figure out how I can help her._ I looked around the room and noticed Ranger standing and slipping a pair of sunglasses out of a case inside his jacket. "Turn off the Christmas lights, Morelli."

"No. I can help her. There's something about this light, it's helping Katrine. Do you know anything about how I'm this 'key' you referred to? Is there someone who can help me?" I brought my other hand up to Katrine's head and held it between both hands. "Katrine? Open your eyes."

I received another small moan as a response and looked over at Ranger. "You need Batiste." He said. "He knows all about immortals. He is immortal himself." The news should have surprised me, but in light of finding out that I am immortal, nothing seemed shocking anymore.

"Okay. How do we get him here?" I asked.

"Waiting for him to call." Came the answer.

This was taking too long. I closed my eyes and called out through what I hoped was time and space. _Batiste?_

I heard a faint hum and felt the air in the room shift. When I opened my eyes, Batiste was standing in front of me. "You rang?"

"Huh, I wondered if that would work or not…"

"Newsflash, Mr. Morelli. The whole immortal world could hear it. We need to clear everyone out and then we need to have a chat. Call it Training 101 to Advanced training 501. It's going to be a crash course, but you've lacked a whole lifetime of training and we need you ready last week." He pursed his lips, keeping himself relatively composed. "Your grandmother kept you quite well hidden. I never sensed you were Drognan's opposite when you were in the Medical Wing at IAPSA's headquarters."

I couldn't believe it. I was supposed to be _helping_ and I just called attention to us all. Ranger nudged me in the shoulder. "Want to lose the high beams now?"

"Right." I willed myself back to normal and swiveled my eyes around to make sure everyone was okay. "Sorry about that."

"Warn us next time so we'll have time to put the shades and UVA block on." Jensen said in her laugh voice. I don't know when I had dubbed that twinkling voice she used as her laugh voice, but it had stuck somewhere between the house on the cliffs and the Caribbean island. I also realized that finding out I was immortal didn't change my feelings for her. What I didn't know was whether or not I was upset by that realization.

********** ********** **********

_Stephanie's POV_

I was stunned. My whole being could be summarized by that word. I didn't have any words to say, I could barely move. _Joe immortal_. So many things were running through my head that I couldn't grasp one thought out of the mix.

Not only was Joe immortal, but he had forced Ranger into a confession.

I tried to gather my thoughts on the matter. If only Ranger had included me in the plan he and Tank had formulated I wouldn't feel so betrayed by the two men I trusted most in my life.

"Don't even go there, Stephanie." Joe said. "You know you would have fought it kicking and screaming."

"No barriers with you, huh?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"No. Now that I know I can do all of these things, it's like there really isn't anything to stop me. Well, except Drognan…"

"Be careful, Joe. Powers are not all they're cracked up to be. You can really hurt someone if you don't know how to control them." I gave him a meaningful look.

"I think I just had my first lesson in that area. I need to be extra careful in what I imagine myself to be and to be prepared for the outcome of that vision." He took a step closer to me and lowered his voice. "Like, right now. I could make you forget how angry you are with Ranger. Take all that sadness from your eyes, if I wanted to."

I sucked in a breath and narrowed my eyes at him. "You wouldn't dare."

He smiled. "No, I wouldn't. Whatever you're feeling is something you need to work through. I'm not going to interfere with that. I'm just telling you what I know I could do if I wanted," he whispered.

I rolled my eyes and caught a glimpse of Ranger staring at us, his jaw set and his eyes narrowed. I realized what our conversation looked like and decided I wasn't in a huge hurry to change his mind. That is, until I saw Jensen in a similar stance. _Hmm, maybe she's not as immune to Joe's charms as I thought._

I smiled at him and leaned up to place a light kiss on his cheek. "Thanks, Joe."

"I know what you're up to, Stephanie." He said very quietly, leaning down to my ear. "Thanks."

"Figured you might."

"However, I'm not so sure this is the right time to make your husband jealous."

"Only for a little while. Until Jen figures it out." I pulled back and smiled up at him. He nodded at me and approached Batiste.

"Well, Mr. Morelli, let's see if you can transport the group." Batiste asked.

Joe looked shocked. "What?"

"I mean, you remove this group from this place and transport them to the next destination. Consider it part of your training." I could tell Batiste was testing Joe. I had to bite my tongue to keep from interfering with Joe's lesson.

"Fine." He swallowed and looked around the room at each of us.

"Relax. Just believe in your abilities." Batiste encouraged gently. "Close your eyes if it helps you concentrate."

Joe nodded and stared at Ranger. I could feel their thoughts passing by me as Ranger gave him the coordinates of our next location. The air currents surrounding us settled as Joe blew out a breath and closed his eyes.

Before my heart could release a single beat, I was standing on a grass covered hill in the middle of a valley. I glanced around me and saw sharp mountain peaks rising to the sky on either side of me. Their tops were blue and white with snow. The breeze was chilly, but tolerable. "Wow, where are we?"

"Home." Diesel said.

I looked over at him standing near me, holding Katrine in his arms against his chest. "Switzerland?"

He nodded.

"Wow." I turned around and greedily ate up the scenery with my eyes. It was beautiful, a combination of winter and summer all mixed into one area. I noticed cattle on the mountainsides and little wooden houses standing not far from them. It was like a scene off the front of a post card.

"Let's head inside." Ranger said from my left. I looked around and noticed Joe wasn't with us. I raised a questioning glance to Batiste.

He struggled to keep a straight face. "Well, I imagine Mr. Morelli forgot he needed to come with us when he sent us here. He should be along shortly."

"What if someone gets to him before he can get here?"

Batiste just stared at me for a beat. "There is only one person who can harm him and even without your friend being properly trained, it would take a great effort on Drognan's part."

"That doesn't make sense. Aren't they meant to destroy each other?" Diesel asked.

"Yes, but Joe's abilities are stronger. Caring for and loving others far outweighs the apathy that Drognan displays for everyone and everything. I do worry that his coming into such close contact with Mr. Morelli's strong positive forces could recharge his negative ones." He looked around for a moment, appreciating the beauty around us. "It would be best to keep them apart until he is strong enough to fight Drognan."

I nodded. It sounded like a good plan, even though I wasn't sure it was a plan we could achieve.

"I believe with my help, our Mr. Morelli can." Batiste answered my unasked question.

I wasn't sure how to respond to the 'Mr. Morelli' comment, so I kept my mouth shut and made my way up the path to the chalet. If the others were as confused as I was, they didn't show it when they followed me inside without uttering a single word.

The chalet was very cozy and warm. There was a fireplace in the main room with comfortable armchairs and couches scattered about. A few down quilts were folded and stacked on a crate in one corner of the room. Immediately to my left was a flight of stairs and I reached out and touched the smoothness of the well worn banister. In my mind, I pictured bedrooms with sturdy, hand-made beds topped with deep feather mattresses and my body sagged with weariness.

"Babe?" I felt Ranger's hand rest at the small of my back and drew strength from him, embarrassed that I had allowed myself to show weakness.

"I'm fine." I stepped away from him and my legs wobbled for a moment.

A large dining room was to the left of the stairs and wonderful smells wafted out to the main room from the kitchen. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until I smelled the food.

I looked at Diesel. "Who lives here?"

He grinned from ear to ear. "This is my house. My cook is fixing us a late lunch since we never got breakfast."

"You have a cook? What are you, the Swiss Ranger?" The thought was so ridiculous that I started laughing and suddenly the day came crashing down on me in one big postpartum moment: the stress of the day, being separated from my infant son, fighting with my husband and last, but not least, discovering that Joe was an unmentionable of the highest order. I tried to stop laughing, but I couldn't. I fell onto a couch clutching my stomach and my laughter turned to sobs. I buried my face in a pillow, allowing my emotions free reign.

I felt strong arms lift me from the couch and then felt the motion of my body being carried up the stairs. Ranger's body never lost contact with mine as he placed me on the bed and pulled one of the quilts over us. His strong arms wrapped around my waist with a gentleness I'd never felt before. He pulled me close, not saying a word as I struggled to control myself.

When my tears subsided, I stayed in the safety of his arms while I sniffled and caught my breath. I felt his lips on the back of my neck and I felt my body stiffen.

"Babe, I'm so sorry. Sorry for not trusting you and for not considering your feelings. I get bull-headed sometimes when it comes to safety. I want nothing more than for us to be together with Jaci–"

"Go away, Ranger." I could feel my anger heating up. I wasn't ready to hear his apologies or discuss his selfish decision regarding our son. "I need more time and I need you to give it to me."

I felt the hardness seep back into him when he stood. "Give you more time… I can do that, but if you continue to get close to Morelli…" he paused for a moment. "Just know that there is a limit to my patience and you're testing it."

I was filled with anger at his statement. "_Your_ patience?" I shouted and shot off the bed to stand in front of him. "Your patience! How did this become about you? You stole my son from me! You didn't ask! You didn't even consider me at all! You did what _you_ wanted! What made _you_ feel better and my feelings be damned!"

I put my hands on my hips and shook my head, a harsh, sad sound coming from my throat. "It used to be that Joe was the one who did that shit to me. It used to be that you were the one who had the most concern for me, who let me be myself…who trusted me. Where did that all go? How is it that you're now both the opposite of what you were?"

I felt tears stream down my face as I looked into his stony expression and cold eyes. I knew that I was hurting him, but I didn't have the strength to care at the moment. "Is anyone who claims to love me capable of treating me like a normal person? Is it too much to ask that I get some consideration and respect? Do I have something inside me that turns the men I love into raving lunatics who can't tell their asses from their foreheads?"

I saw sadness come into his eyes at that statement. He started to reach toward me and I took a step back. "No. We have some thinking to do. You have to think about what I _actually_ mean to you and I need to think about whether or not I can trust you again."

After a few moments of staring, he gave me a curt nod and left the room. With fresh tears streaming down my face, I crawled back into bed and fell into a fitful sleep wondering what we had done to each other.


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: Standard – JE's stuff belongs to her, I'm just playing with it._

_A/N: Thanks to my girls, M&M, for going to bat for me again. I appreciate all of your input and feedback!_

********** ********** **********

_Joe's POV_

We were all at the dinner table when Ranger came downstairs. I was debating reading his thoughts when Batiste sent me a look that made it clear he thought it was a bad idea. I bowed my head in acknowledgement. I was sure the reasoning would be made unmistakable to me later during my training, but it wasn't a stretch of the imagination to guess that it wasn't wise to use your powers on your allies. Despite our history, I wanted Ranger on my side.

Halfway through the meal of roast beef, new potatoes, and broad beans, I remembered that we hadn't started out on the run from Drognan. The question was too prevalent in my mind to wait until the meal was over. Everyone stopped and turned their heads in my direction when I voiced it aloud, "I thought we were on the run from the unmentionable mob? We didn't even know about Drognan until this morning. What about the people we were hiding the Manosos from?"

_Was it really only this morning?_ It had been a long day, the longest of my life. I couldn't believe that we'd been running and hardly eating all day.

"We still have to worry about them, but since they are human, Drognan is a bigger problem," Ranger provided.

I looked at Ranger for a moment. His eyes held a haunted look I'd never seen before. I mentally rolled my eyes at Stephanie. She picked fights when she was afraid, and I was sure she was the most afraid she'd ever been in her life. Now she had a child to protect and to do that, she also needed her husband.

"Is it okay if I take some food to your wife and give her a piece of my mind, Ranger?" I didn't wait for his answer. Instead, I filled another plate with food and stood, careful to avoid Ranger's enraged face. "Great. Thanks." I took the stairs two at a time, satisfied with the fact that I was going to do what I wanted and he wasn't going to stop me. The thought brought a huge grin to my face. I really couldn't help it; after all, I'd been dealing with the same thing for the past four years.

Knocking once, I slowly opened the door to her room and saw her curled up under the covers, her mass of flyaway curls visible above the edge of the quilt. I set the plate of food on the nightstand and sat on the bed by her feet, gently grasping her ankle and shaking.

She came awake slowly, sighing and grudgingly opening her eyes. I watched as she took a moment to remember where she was and then she put her hands to her eyes and said, "Please, I just need you to give me time."

"At the risk of sounding like your husband, you need to be more aware of your surroundings, Steph." I couldn't help but grin as the words left my mouth. My day was full of irony.

She tilted her head up and looked at me. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought you might be hungry."

She sat up and looked around. "You brought me food?"

I grabbed the plate and held it in front of her. Her mouth opened a bit in anticipation and she reached for the plate. I pulled the plate out of her reach. "Not quite yet. I think that you and I _really_ need to have a talk."

"Joe, if you don't let me eat, there will be no talking. I'll be comatose from hunger." She groaned and flopped backwards onto her pillow.

"Fine, but you have to promise to listen to _everything_ I say and not interrupt." I gave her my most serious tone. She glared at me, but nodded. "Okay, but if you interrupt, I won't magically produce a slice of pineapple upside down cake for you."

I handed her the plate and gave her a minute while she dug in, moaning at the tenderness of the roast beef. I couldn't blame her one bit. The pot roast was so good, I had practically moaned when I tasted it…and I don't moan. "So," she said licking her fingers, "what do you want?"

I stood and paced at the end of the bed for a minute. "I'm going to tell you something that might end our friendship, but since you're about to ruin the best thing that's ever happened to you, I'm willing to take the chance." I couldn't believe these words left my mouth, but I meant them. Each and every one.

She stopped chewing to stare at me. "If you're here to talk about Ranger…"

"I'm not." I said, raising my palms into the air. "I'm here to talk about you."

She gave me a curious look, but started eating again, so I took it as a sign to continue. "I don't know quite how to say this, so I'm just going to blurt it out. You're a real piece of work sometimes, Steph."

Again the chewing stopped. "Fuck off, Morelli! I didn't ask for your–"

"You said you wouldn't interrupt," I reminded her. "Anyway, it's true. You are. You drove me nuts when we were dating. You take offense at everything. You aren't willing to sit and talk things out. You're a baby when it comes to getting what you want."

I saw her cheeks grow red, and then redder, during my speech and realized I needed to do some recon or I would lose her. "Don't get me wrong. Taking your baby and hiding him from you…that was just plain stupid. But Stephanie, men get irrational and stupid all the time. We have fears. We're supposed to be the protectors. The go-to guys." I raked my hand through my hair. "Most of the time we can do that, but when we love someone…the calculating part of our brains shuts off."

"Ranger loves you both more than he could ever tell you. If you don't believe me, sneak a look at him. He's miserable and he's lost his whole world. His baby is under someone else's care and his wife is withholding all her love and affection from him because she's pissed."

She started to bristle and I put a hand on her forearm. "I'm _not_ saying that you shouldn't be mad. I would be mad as hell. I know you love him, but you're pushing him away. He needs you. He needs your love and your support. He needs to know that you can forgive him for the stupid mistake he made by not discussing his plan to protect Jaci. He panicked and did what comes natural to him." She threw another bite into her mouth, mumbling, but careful not to say anything. "He hides, Steph."

"I've never known Ranger to hide," she said with a sniff.

"Really? You don't think you've ever seen him hide?" I asked.

"No, he goes out with all guns blazing. He takes control. He's always in control and he doesn't hide." She leaned over and set her plate on the bedside table, the broad beans untouched.

"You really believe that?"

She shrugged and I continued, "That 'blank face' you always refer to? The one he's wearing tonight, in fact." Another shrug. "How about all the black clothes, the weapons, and the sunglasses? Is that the real him?" A tear slipped from her eye and she shook her head.

"Do you think that sending Jaci away wasn't some fear-induced decision on how he could best protect his son and you? He's never been faced with such a challenge. Maybe, just maybe, he was more afraid than he's ever been in his life that for once, he wasn't capable of protecting what he loves most." I saw another tear slip. "Steph, in his mind, he has to keep you both safe. Do you doubt for one minute that he would not hesitate to sacrifice himself to save one or both of you?"

"No," she whispered with trembling lips.

"Do you think that his decision means that he loves you any less? That he loves Jaci any less?"

She swiveled her head from side to side miserably, more tears spilling from her eyes. "I miss him, but I'm so hurt."

I tilted her chin up to look at me. "My Grandma Bella used to say something to me when I would get so angry with my dad or my brothers. I would be clenched up in a ball, gritting my teeth. She would put her hand on my head and stroke my hair and say, 'Joseph, you can get a hotel room in the land of anger, but don't buy real estate. It's a barren wasteland and it will starve your soul until you're just as barren as the land around you'.''

Her eyes widened a fraction. "Do you know what that phrase means? It means that you may have to go through your anger for a while until you learn what you can gain from it, but then you have to leave; let it go. If you choose to live in anger, it will destroy you. Not only that, it will destroy everything around you and all the things that make you _you_."

She bent her head and began to cry softly. "She really helped you break away from him, didn't she?"

"From my father?" I asked. She nodded. "Yes. She did. I believe that anger is a starting point for some people, but for those who choose not to let go of the anger, it turns to bitterness and then into a desolate hatred. When you get to that point, you no longer care about anyone or anything. You just want them to hurt the way you do."

I sighed, not wanting to tread on this emotional ground. "I decided a long time ago that my father was a victim of his own response. His dad was abusive, but he didn't have anyone positive in his life to reinforce that. Grandma Bella wasn't strong enough at that time to help him and he grew up with anger in his soul. Maybe somewhere inside me I see how I could have been him all over again if she hadn't recognized the signs. But she did and I'm thankful. And I can say that I forgive my dad and mean it. He was wrong, but I can't live my life mad at him every day. It takes too much out of me."

She pressed her hands to her face, swiping at the tears freely flowing down her cheeks. "I think I learned more about you in this past five minutes than I ever did when we were dating."

"Pressure's off," I joked. "I don't have to be your protector anymore. It's someone else's job, so I can show you my weaknesses. Go to your husband, Steph. He needs you." I stood and walked over to the door. I turned to look at her once more before leaving. "And if you ever use me again to make him jealous, I'll write another poem about you on the wall in Mario's sub shop and this time it won't be pretty."

She threw a pillow at me. "The _first_ poem wasn't flattering!"

I dodged the pillow and walked out of the room with a huge smile on my face. I turned toward the stairs and almost ran into Jensen. My breath caught in my throat at the vulnerable look in her eyes. Because I cared about her, I forced myself not to take a peek into her mind, but I was tempted. "Hey…" she looked at the floor for a second and then back at me, "that was a nice thing you did."

"Did you hear our whole conversation?"

"No!" She licked her lips. "No, I didn't hear the whole thing. I only heard… the last part." She looked around the room once before meeting my eyes again. "You're a good guy, Superman."

I took a step closer and she didn't retreat. "Superman?"

"Yeah, well…Batman's taken and you're sort of one up from him now, so…" I quirked an eyebrow at her. "Well, He-Man was just too much and you're definitely not Spiderman…"

I slipped my hand around the back of her neck and buried it in her hair, tugging her up against me. "If I'm Superman, who does that make you?" I touched my lips to hers in a sweet kiss. Her taste and scent were just as I remembered them. Hot and sweet, sultry and sexy. I wrapped my other arm around her waist and pulled her close, deepening the kiss and letting my tongue slip between her lips to caress and explore.

She broke the kiss gently and pulled back to say, "If you call me Lois Lane, I'll kick your ass." I grinned and yanked her up against my chest, crushing my lips down onto hers. Her arms went around my waist and she pressed her body against mine, sending tingles throughout my entire body. My fingertips massaged her scalp as my other hand gripped her hip and pulled her close against me.

By now I was hard and the feel of her soft body rubbing against mine elicited a groan from my throat. She broke away from me with a gasp and pressed the fingertips of one hand to her lips. "I'm sorry. That shouldn't have happened."

She was gone down the stairs in a flash. I stood in the hallway dumbfounded. _What the hell_? I took a few moments to calm myself down and get back to a normal state before heading down the stairs. I found everyone in the main room lounging on the furniture when I reached the bottom of the staircase.

Ranger was in an armchair staring into the fire, unmoving and unblinking. I walked over to him and leaned down behind him so my words were directed toward his ear. "Go to her."

He didn't react, though I knew he'd heard me. "One of you has to give. She's up there crying her eyes out and I believe she's ready to listen to you, but if you don't want to try again…" I walked away and sat across the room on a couch, noticing that Jensen was nowhere to be found. Pursing my lips, I looked around for invisible beings, trying to see if Jensen had pulled one of her disappearing acts.

I received quite a shock when I saw a man leaning against the wall furthest from me. He wasn't looking at me, so I continued my scan around the room as if he wasn't there. Knowing that the others weren't aware of his presence, I swept my gaze past him and took in his appearance. I also noted that he was watching Ranger.

He was tall, somewhere in the range of six feet four or five, and his head was bald. He was wearing black jeans and a black sweater. Black combat boots encased his size fourteen feet that were crossed at the ankles. He had a tattoo of a black widow on a web across his neck and his nails were painted black. The outer rims of his eyes were etched with a thick band of black eyeliner and each ear was encrusted with multiple piercings. I didn't know who he was, but I figured he wasn't here for a good reason.

I willed a snapshot of him into my back pocket. At that moment, Ranger rose from his seat and moved toward the stairs. I got up and followed him and the invisible man followed us. When we got to the hallway outside their bedroom, the guy leaned against the wall across from their door and Ranger stopped and turned to me. "I think I can do this on my own, Morelli."

"Sure, no problem. I just want to show you this note that Stephanie gave me." I reached into my back pocket and grabbed the picture. "I think you'll find it helpful."

He gave me a strange look. "She gave you a _note_? Are we in sixth grade?"

"No, this is a special note." I checked to make sure the man remained against the wall when I gave the photo to Ranger. I wasn't exactly sure how to handle this guy. I didn't want to harm him just now, especially when I wasn't one hundred percent sure of his motives, but I had a bad feeling about him being here. I also had no way of telling if he had any backup or how dangerous he really was.

Ranger looked at the photo and snapped his eyes to mine. I made writing appear across the photo for him to read. _He's invisible and he's standing against the wall to your left. I'm unsure what to do about him._

Ranger nodded and slid the photo into his pocket. "Thanks, Morelli. Why don't you work out a plan with Batiste on our next steps? I'm going to talk to Stephanie."

"Good luck. Let me know if you need anything."

He nodded and entered the room. I felt fairly confident that Mr. Invisible was just standing around hoping to grab Jaci, but I hated to leave the hallway when I knew they couldn't see him. I had to trust that Ranger knew his enemies better than I did. I jogged down the stairs to Batiste.

"What's wrong?" He asked as I approached him.

I looked around and saw no sign of Mr. Invisible. I willed an identical photo into my pocket and pulled it out. "This guy is upstairs in the hall, outside Steph and Ranger's room, monitoring the door. He was down here, but he followed Ranger upstairs."

"How did you notice him? I didn't even sense his presence."

I lowered my eyes with embarrassment. "I was looking for Jensen."

"I see." He said. He gave no indication of how he felt; if he approved, disapproved or if he even had an opinion on whether or not I should be looking for Jensen.

"What do we do about him?"

"We get rid of him and keep our eyes open." Batiste walked toward the stairs. I stood rooted to the spot, contemplating. He turned and looked at me. "You coming?"

"What do you expect me to do?"

"Fight dirty if you have to, but win." Came Batiste's answer as he mounted the first step.

_Well, shit._


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: Standard – JE's stuff belongs to her, I'm just playing with it._

_A/N: Like always, many thanks to my lovelies, M&M, for their greatness. J_

********** ********** **********

_Stephanie's POV_

I was lying on the bed, facing away from the door when I heard it open. There were two footsteps and then the door clicked shut. I could feel Carlos behind me, his gaze burning into the back of my head. _Time for the olive branch_.

I stood up, pushed my hair behind my ears, and turned to face him. The pain in his eyes slammed into me and took my breath away. I wanted to throw my arms around him, bury my face in his neck, and feel his strong arms around me. I wanted to kiss him and tell him that I loved him. What stopped me were Joe's words of warning. Had I gone too far? And if I had, how could I fix it?

We stared at each other for a minute and then he took a small step toward me and reached out a hand to me. "Babe?"

Closing the space between us, I took his hand in mine and let myself be pulled into his warm embrace. He held me close, just breathing and stroking my back. The heat of his body seeped into me. I allowed myself a selfish moment in which I drew on his strength before I selected my words and spoke. "I have it on good authority that I'm a baby and a real piece of work sometimes."

He tugged on my hair to make me tip my head back and look at him. "Not to mention a little frustrating."

I glared at him and pulled back slightly. "If you're going to make this hard on me, it's not going to work out well for either of us."

"Peace, Babe. I know I'm not the easiest man to live with. I have it on good authority that I can be an arrogant asshole sometimes." I struggled to keep my face straight at his comment. I had told him that once during an argument we'd had shortly after we were married. He'd stormed out of the room, but later admitted it was true. We'd ended up having fantastic makeup sex that night. It was also the night Jaci was conceived.

That memory got me thinking about possibilities for how this conversation could end. "I know that you were doing what you felt was best for our family. I just think that maybe you went about it the wrong way." I looked into his eyes and practically melted at the love I found in them.

"Babe, let's not discuss this right now," he said. I would have gotten angry if I hadn't noticed a strange look on his face. I narrowed my eyes at him in question. "I'd rather discuss this note Morelli gave me."

Before I had a chance to react, he pulled something out of his back pocket and handed it to me. I looked at the photo and gulped down a huge lump of fear. Alain Mériot. Flipping over the photo, I saw Joe's handwriting and read the information. My eyes shot up to meet Carlos' eyes. "Oh. I can see why you'd want to discuss this…when did he give it to you?"

"Just before I came in here."

My eyes did a nervous dance around the room. He shook his head to signify he didn't think Mériot was in the room. "Right." I collapsed onto the edge of the bed. "I suppose we should discuss this with Batiste."

"We'll have to wait our turn. Right now Morelli's got his complete attention."

I opened my mouth to reply when a scuffle on the other side of the door jerked me away from the conversation. We both bolted to the door and Carlos shoved me behind him as he put his ear against it to listen. I rolled my eyes and opened my mouth to snap at him until I remembered my conversation with Joe. Carlos had always been my protector. The fact that I was now an unmentionable didn't change the fact that he wanted me to be safe. He'd rescued me from the worst hell and he had stuck by me through the whole ordeal, proving how much he truly loved me.

"What's going on?"

"Fighting."

"Let's go help."

"No. You're not going anywhere near Alain. His father did enough to you and I don't think it would be wise to get your souls near each other." That knowledge gave me pause. Truro Mériot had drained my soul from my body after he had beaten, raped and tortured me. I really wasn't feeling like getting anywhere near his son, who most likely had the same skills. "Please, stay here."

I nodded and kissed his cheek. He squeezed me tight against him and opened the door to the scene in the hallway.

********** ********** **********

_Joe's POV_

I followed Batiste up the stairs and sent a question to his mind. _Care to tell me what sort of stuff this guy can do?_

His reply reminded me that I was no ordinary person anymore. _It doesn't matter. There's nothing he can do that will affect you. Only an immortal can harm an immortal_. My steps faltered when I realized that the word 'anymore' wasn't accurate. In all reality, I had never been a normal person, but I'd always thought I was.

_I didn't realize that. So, seriously, no mortal can hurt us? Even unmentionable mortals?_ I sent my questions to his mind as we reached the top of the stairs.

_It would be best if we saved this discussion for later, when our immediate danger has been dealt with._

I'd never considered that superhuman abilities wouldn't affect me. Then again, why would I have considered it? I felt Batiste's sigh float through my head.

_No. They can't read your mind, hear your thoughts, or harm you physically. You're not subjected to their abilities, either. You would learn this if you had a chance to be properly trained. For now, we have to 'wing' it. _Our feet hit the landing and we walked toward the Manosos bedroom door. _We need to subdue this man. He is very dangerous to mortals._

_Okay._ I was confused as hell, but I sensed that this situation would be used to train me. Batiste didn't disappoint.

_Make him visible._

_What?_ I asked as I stuck my hands in my pockets and leaned against the wall next to the door, feigning boredom.

_Just do it. You know how._ Batiste turned to look at me. "Now would be a good time to get everything started."

I acquiesced and willed the man in front of us to visibility. The harder I concentrated on him, the faster his shape appeared. I felt Batiste stiffen beside me and knew that he, too, was able to see Mériot. I decided to mess with our uninvited guest a bit. I grinned at him and said, "Hey, man. Mind telling us what you're doing here?"

I almost laughed at the shock on his face. I knew he was going to try to pop himself out of here, so I blocked his ability and watched his anger distort his features.

"Batiste, leave me alone! You know they have to be stopped. You should be helping us," he spat.

Batiste showed him a smile, but offered no answer. Alain turned to look at me and charged me, slamming his hand to my forehead. I had no clue what he was trying to do, but I willed his powers to reflect back onto himself. His hand glowed and then another look of shock passed over his features.

As his abilities slammed back into him, his mouth opened and his eyes went hollow and he fell to the floor.

I looked at Batiste. "That was kind of boring."

Alain sat up and twisted his head up to look at me. "You'll regret that!" He hooked a foot behind my leg and brought me crashing down to the floor. He pounced on me, punching me in the face. It hurt, a lot. I wasted no time in returning the pain. Then I remembered that I didn't have to roll around on the floor fighting this guy. I froze him in place and knocked him over onto his side like a statue.

"Shit, I thought you said that he couldn't hurt me!" I rubbed my aching jaw and stood up.

Batiste smiled at me with amusement in his eyes. "Mr. Morelli, no mortal can do anything to you that you _decide_ they can't do to you. How do you think that anyone ever hurt you before? Stephanie running over you with the car, the other injuries you've received, Stiva running over you with his car, and Wulf?"

"So, I have to decide how _all-powerful_ I want to be?"

"For lack of a better phrase, that will do nicely. It's up to you how normal you act and feel. You can be 'just a regular guy' or you can be 'out of this world', the choice is yours." He gave me a sympathetic smile. "You can also decide how long you want to be in pain, too."

The door to Ranger and Steph's room opened and Ranger stood in the doorway looking at us.

"Who is this guy?" I asked the room at large.

"Alain Meriot," Ranger answered. "Truro's son."

I felt the anger build inside me, quickly remembering what that bastard had done to Stephanie. "Motherfucker."

Ranger gave a curt nod to me and turned to Batiste, asking, "What are we going to do about Mériot?"

Batiste's placid face belied the danger lurking beneath. "Since his sole mission in hunting you has been to harm your child, fueled mostly by the fact that you had to kill his father, I'm of the expert opinion that he will always be a threat to you. What is your feeling on the subject?"

Ranger looked down at the son of a bitch for a brief second. "Take care of it. I have enough of his family's blood on my hands."

Batiste turned to me and quirked up an eyebrow in question. Here I had a dilemma. I was a cop. I was trained to uphold justice and now I found myself thrust into a world of people that were governed by their own rules. These people handled their own problems and took justice into their own hands. I had a choice on whether or not I was going to be a murderer. I had to wonder if I could consider it murder under these circumstances? And did I have it in me to do it?

I looked at Ranger and Batiste and then at Alain, who I'm sure could hear everything, but didn't have the ability to defend himself or speak on his own behalf. Even with the memory of what his father had done, this man hadn't done anything to me. Even if he was hunting my friends' child, I wasn't sure I could be the one to take him out.

I sighed and gave my answer. "Is this a training thing because I'm not sure that I'm up to killing someone in cold blood? Not sure how I feel about it. What are the rules here? You know I'm a cop and, even if I never return to the force, my training says he gets justice." I saw Ranger stiffen and held my hands up, "Hey, I'm not saying it shouldn't be done. I'm just saying I have a personal conflict here. Can you explain this to me?"

Ranger looked at me, "No worries, Morelli. We respect your hesitation and, to be honest, I probably would have a harder time if you'd jumped at the chance. I always said you were a good cop."

"Killing _is_ a choice, Mr. Morelli. However, sometimes it's better to make the choice for the greater good." Batiste pointed his finger toward Mériot while he spoke, "He is a murderer; a paid assassin. We don't tolerate his kind. Period. Because of the abilities of those involved, we have a strict code of ethics that must be followed."

"First, cut out the 'Mr. Morelli' shit, Batiste. I'm Joe or Morelli. Hearing you call me that reminds me of my grandfather. I'm not interested in his memory. Second, you didn't answer my question about whether or not killing him outright is _legal_ in your system." I crossed my arms as I made my statement.

"This is war, Morelli." Ranger fixed his gaze on me, unblinking. "Anything is acceptable in order to complete the mission successfully. You and I aren't that different. We're both about the job. Your job says you have to bring the bad guys in so they can go before a jury of their peers to receive justice that will hopefully keep the public safe. My job says I have to eliminate the threats before they can cause any damage. Same circumstances, different philosophies."

I didn't like it, but I had to admit he was right. Hadn't I known all along that both of us were men with difficult jobs, each with a different set of instructions on how to complete them?

"There's also the fact that we're talking about my wife and son here," Ranger said in a deadly voice. "Nothing will stop me from keeping them safe. No guilt. No price." He tossed a nod in Batiste's direction and then turned around and walked back into the bedroom to join Stephanie, shutting the door behind him.

Batiste studied me for a moment. "You have noble intentions, Morelli. You are probably a bit too idealistic for the things you are about to face and learn." He started to turn toward Mériot and then halted, looking at me with a serious expression. "I am one hundred percent on board with Carlos' opinion. I'll take care of this situation. Please inform everyone we need to move again. I have no idea who he has been in contact with. Staying here isn't safe."

He grabbed a hold of Alain's shirt collar and they both disappeared from view. I stood watching the spot for a moment, beginning the process of breaking down tonight's events. I felt her behind me before she spoke, "He's right, Superman. This isn't the Trenton Police Department, it's reality and this reality is far different from anything you've ever known."

"Where did you run off to?" I still hadn't turned around. In some ways, it was easier to face her if I didn't get sucked into those eyes.

"I just needed some time to detox."

_Detox? What the…_ "Excuse me?" I turned around to face Jensen, my anger rising quickly to the surface. "Oh, don't bother answering. I guess you need to decide exactly what it is you want from me." I stared at her for a full minute and she didn't say anything or respond. _Women_. I walked past her and started down the stairs before calling out, "Let me know when you make up your mind, will ya?"

Down in the main room, Diesel was seated beside Katrine where she lay on the couch covered with a quilt. She was still and pale. The only sign of life was the steady rise and fall of her chest. I plunked down on the armchair across from them and he looked up at me, his formerly laughing eyes now full of worry and fatigue. While the constant laughter from him had bugged me during our lockdown together, his current demeanor bothered me more.

I sighed and gave him an apologetic look. "We have to go again."

He shook his head wearily. "I heard a scuffle. Who was here?"

"Alain Mériot."

I saw his eyes harden. "I assume Ranger is taking care of it?"

"Batiste."

He seemed to consider that for a moment. "Are we ready to go?"

"I just need to tell Ranger and Steph."

"Already done," Jensen said from the bottom of the stairs. "They left."

Diesel didn't acknowledge her statement. He simply gathered his wife into his arms and disappeared. I looked at Jensen and she slid her eyes away from me before disappearing. _Morelli, you sure know how to pick 'em._ I realized no one had given me coordinates for the new location and thought that it was a good thing I was immortal or I wouldn't have had a clue how to find them.

I focused on Diesel and appeared standing next to him in a long, wide hallway ornately decorated in deep blue, mahogany and brass. On either side of the hallway were four mahogany doors with brass door handles. I turned around and noted that the stairs were _directly_ behind me.

Diesel turned to look at me and said, "Nice landing."

I smirked and indicated to the hallway. "Bedrooms?"

"Yeah. Yours is the last on the right. Steph and Ranger went to bed. You know Jensen, no one's sure where she went." He looked exhausted.

"Go get some sleep. I'll stand guard tonight. I'm not tired if I don't want to be and I'm sure Batiste will be back soon."

He looked relieved and walked to the third door on the left. "Bathroom is the first door on your left," he said just before disappearing inside.

I looked down the hall and saw a chair next to a writing desk. I walked over and sat down, propping my left ankle up on my right knee. I checked my watch and was startled to discover that it was only eight o'clock. It had been the longest day I'd had in a long, long time. Days tended to get that way when you were on the run. This I knew from experience.

I checked around for invisible persons now as a precaution. I saw Jensen down the hall from me sitting on the floor with her head against the wall, her eyes staring up at the ceiling. "You can run, but you can't hide."

She rolled her eyes and sent me an angry glare. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Hey, if I hadn't been aware last time, we never would have known about Mériot."

"You mean if you hadn't been looking for me?"

"Yeah, lucky you make it a habit to run away so often, huh?" I knew I was being an ass, but we just seemed to be doing this dance so often. I wasn't in the mood for this load of crapola.

"Run away? In case you didn't know, we're supposed to be protecting people who are being hunted as we speak. I have duties and I sometimes have to disappear to perform them. Sorry that it doesn't seem to fit with your schedule!" She stood and raised her voice as she spoke until she was at a near yell.

"Nice try. If that's so, why were you invisible just now?"

"Because, tonight I wasn't ready to deal with crazy questions from you that I can't answer right now!"

"If my questions are _crazy_, it's only because you make _me_ crazy!" My voice was rising in pitch and I advanced toward her. I was on a roll. "You kiss me and then you run away. We get in the same room together and you're on pins and needles. You can't stop insulting me and _I'm_ the crazy one?"

"You would be on pins and needles, too, if you had the most incredibly sexy…person constantly pressing your buttons!" She seethed, giving me a shove to the chest. "You're continually giving me those soft, melty looks and staring into my eyes. I'm not sure if I want to throw you on the floor and have my wicked way with you or stomp that pompous smile off your hot…skillfull…"

I lost track of the conversation at 'have my wicked way with you' and pressed my body against hers. I hadn't realized I was going to kiss her until she trailed off and my lips were mere millimeters from hers. Our eyes were locked, we were both breathing heavily and I felt the strangest, breathtaking adrenaline pumping through my veins. She had one chance to say no and if she didn't take it, I was going in and I wasn't coming back out. "Jensen…"

"What are you waiting for, Superman?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper and her hand slid down my back to rest at the top of one cheek.

My breath hitched in my throat and I fought to control my breathing. I slid my hands into her hair and held her head steady. My heart was banging in my chest. _Yeah, what was I waiting for?_

********** ********** **********

_A/N: Should Joe plunge in or go slow? Let me know. I going to try my HARDEST to get 10 done to post for Friday or Saturday. It all depends on how the rest of the week goes. The latest it will be up is Sunday, but I'm hoping for earlier than that. Thanks for your support and reviews, everyone. They really drive me on the days when it's hard to get in and write!_


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: Standard – JE's stuff belongs to her, I'm just playing with it._

_A/N: I can't thank M&M enough for working so quickly on this and helping me get it ready to post so soon! You ladies are the best!_

********** ********** **********

_Stephanie's POV_

Carlos and I had already decided we would need to leave beautiful Switzerland behind when Jensen knocked and informed us of the move. There was no telling who knew we were here. "I'm going to talk to Morelli about this, but I want you to stick close to him if I'm not around."

I looked at him as if a second head sprouted from his neck. "Can you run that by me one more time?"

He closed his lids over eyes filled with exasperation. "I hate to admit this, but Morelli is the only one who can keep you safe from Drognan. He came after you this morning, Babe. Morelli is the only one who can stop him if he tries anything."

I was speechless. Carlos was asking me to stick to Morelli and then another part of what he said struck me. "What do you mean 'if you're not around' exactly?"

"In case I have to leave or if we get separated for some reason. I want you to be with someone who can keep you safe."

"So…you want me to be with Joe constantly…and you will have _no_ problem with this?" As hard as I tried, I couldn't wipe the surprised expression from my face.

"I trust both of you. You have me and Morelli is totally gone on Jensen." He sighed and pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "I'm giving myself the same rules. I can't fight an immortal and, since I'm assuming we're both targets, we _both_ need to be careful. Does that make you happier?"

"Not that we need protection…but it does make me happy that you're taking your own safety seriously." I slipped my arms around his waist and pressed close up against him. "Carlos?"

His arms circled over mine and down around my waist. Staring into my eyes for a moment, he poured out his soul to me through his while he spoke, "Yes, Stephanie?"

"When can I see Jaci again?" My question was a quiet whisper, barely audible. "I need to see him."

He stared at me for a few more moments and pulled me to him, crushing his mouth to mine. I opened my mouth, trusting that I would receive an answer from him, knowing that this kiss was his way of settling his mind. I whimpered a little as he pulled back to look at me again. My eyes were semi-glazed and my pulse was a bit quicker from my body's response to his kiss.

Just when I was getting impatient, he said, "I was just thinking, 'What is the point of having a baby if we are just going to send him away?' Besides, I'm now concerned that Tank doesn't know about Drognan and Jaci would be safer with Morelli." He kissed me again and ran his hands down my back to rest on my hips. "Please don't tell Tank I said that…it wouldn't go over well."

I grinned, knowing that Tank would _hate_ it and there was no way _I_ would be the one to tell him. "Let's get him now. Please," I said, getting nervous now that he'd brought up the subject of Drognan. "When was the last time you heard from Tank?"

"This afternoon when I called him."

"Have you tried him since then?"

"No, we've been busy, but I know that things are fine. You and I would both know if anything happened to him." His hands began to massage my neck and shoulders. "Let's go get them both. Hopefully, he'll have some information on what happened to the others. It bothers me that Lynck, Oliver, Javi and Aric are still missing."

"They're still missing? You didn't tell me that!" My eyes widened in surprise.

"We had other things to worry about and there's nothing we can do to help them right now. Let's get Jaci and Tank and then we'll talk to Batiste." We held hands as our room disappeared and a small forest appeared in its place.

********** ********** **********

_Joe's POV_

I closed the tiny distance between our mouths and gently caressed her lips with mine. Sweet Jesus, her lips were hot and sweet and soft. Her taste was emblazoned in my memory and my tongue sought it out as soon as our lips locked. She opened her lips for me and I slid my tongue between their fullness to caress inside her mouth, drawing her spicy, sweet flavor into mine. She was quickly becoming my addiction.

I would never get enough of her. Fire was rushing through my body, burning me where it spread until I was nearly in pain. I tore my lips from hers and trailed them along her jaw, groaning out between kisses, "Oh…my…god…you taste…amazing." I heard her gasp when I reached the sensitive spot behind her earlobe and then touched it with my tongue. I placed a kiss there and then nipped my way back down her neck.

"I can't stay away from you," she admitted on a ragged breath. "You drive me crazy, but I need your insanity." Oh God, her hands were tugging my shirt out of my jeans and I groaned when her nails scratched down my back. I mimicked her actions, slipping my hands under the back of her shirt and trailing my fingertips gently down her soft flesh, stopping to unhook her bra. When I reached her jeans, I slipped my fingers inside the back of her waistband to lightly massage her lower back and the top of her impeccable little ass.

With a soft moan, she nipped at my jaw, sending a shockwave of heat from that spot all the way down to the tip of my painful erection, which was pressed tight against her stomach in reaction. "Fiammetta, you're burning me up."

"Likewise, Superman." She slid her hands into my hair, tugging my head backwards so she could trail hot, wet kisses down my neck. Her fire was heightening my senses, making me lose my mind. There was only she and her heat. I was drawn to it as if it was a life source.

"God, you turn me to fire." My hands were caressing her abdomen and moving up to her full, round breasts. I held the weight of them in my hands, testing their heaviness, and sending whisper-like caresses over her taut nipples under her loose bra. "I can't think around you."

Her response was to bite her way down my neck, pausing at my pulse point to hold it with her teeth and caress it with her tongue, then moving downward until her progress was stopped by my shirt collar. I released a guttural moan and slid my hands down her body to her thighs to lift her up against me. She felt weightless in my arms, she was so tiny, and her legs were like vices when they wrapped around my waist. All the while, her lips and teeth never left my neck, earlobe, and jaw.

I swiftly made my way down the hallway to my room, holding her easily with one arm when I opened my door. I kicked it shut once we were inside, and rushed over to the bed, turning to sit on the edge with her straddling my waist. She broke away from my heated skin and grabbed the back of my shirt, whipping it up over my head. Her strong little hands stroked and kneaded my pecs and abs, and I groaned when she pinched my tight brown nipples between her thumb and forefinger.

"Show me what you can do, Superman." She smiled as she bent down to lick and suck one of the dark brown nubs.

I tried to think, but coherent thought eluded me. "I can't do anything. You've stolen my ability to think." I groaned as her teeth scraped my nipples. I'd never had a woman so entrance me before. Never. I'd been with many, many women and most of them were forgettable. I'd loved Stephanie and it had never been this way with her. I was always in complete control. With Jensen, the word control didn't exist in my vocabulary.

She reached up and kissed me fiercely, scorching me with her flaming lips. "Show me what you want then."

I looked down at her body and willed her clothing away and suddenly she was naked in front of me. My eyes ate up the sight of her naked flesh like a starving man looking at a steak. Her heaving breasts were inviting, waiting for my mouth, her flat abdomen was muscular and feminine all at once, and her hot, pink center was glistening with her need.

"Nice trick, Superman. Your turn." She sat back and looked at me. I stared into her eyes and willed away my own clothing. They were gone in a flash and I groaned. Being next to Jensen clothed was raw seduction. Being next to Jensen naked was like touching lava: liquid and explosive. She smiled in appreciation and slid backwards off my knees until hers hit the floor. Before I had a chance to react, she had spread my legs apart and moved between them, grabbing a hold of my hard, heated cock, leaning down to lick and torture the tip.

"Fuck!" I shouted, trying to grab her arms and lift her up, but she held me off.

"No way, Superman. This is my gig." Her head came up and I saw that her amethyst eyes had darkened to the color of smoke: dark gray with a hint of purple.

"Since when?" I moaned out tightly on a hitched breath.

"Since you lost your ability to think." She grinned and flicked her tongue out to lick the tip of my cock and then leaned down to sheath it with her mouth, opening the back of her throat, allowing my entire length to enter her. I hissed a breath in through my teeth when I felt her lips close around the base and her tongue caress along the thick vein on the underside. She hummed deep in her throat and I yelled out my appreciation. I buried my hands in her hair when she slowly slid her mouth up, leaving me wet and needy after her mouth left me.

The desire in her eyes fueled me into action and I willed her into lying on her back. She blinked when she realized what I'd done, but smiled in appreciation as I crawled over her and kissed her with fervor while my hands explored her body. I caressed her inner thigh with my entire length as I leaned down to lick and explore her breasts with my mouth, carefully avoiding her nipples.

She gasped and groaned when my lips and tongue neared her hard peaks and narrowly bypassed them several times. On the final pass, she growled like a little she-lion and grasped my hair in her hands, hissing out, "Dammit, Morelli!"

I chuckled and covered her left nipple with my mouth, swirling around it with my tongue, then sucking hard and drawing as much of her breast into my mouth as possible, stretching and caressing it. I bit down hard on her nipple and sucked on it again, making her shriek in pleasure and buck her hips against me, coating my cock with her wetness as her center brushed against it.

Every muscle in my body contracted at the contact and I stilled, letting the heat wash over me and waiting for it to pass, but it didn't. The heat only grew until I felt like my entire being was engulfed. Needing to know if her moist heat tasted as hot and sweet as her mouth, I slowly kissed my way down her stomach and abdomen, tasting her skin and soaking in the feel of her.

I caressed her calves, legs, inner thighs and hips. By the time I reached her miniscule hairline, she was moaning and gasping continually. The sound was music to my ears. I loved knowing I could drive her as wild as she drove me. When she started pleading with me, I slid my mouth lower and tilted my head down to place a soft kiss on her swollen clit.

She gave a sharp cry at the contact and then uttered a stream of curse words at me when I stopped. I laughed gently and settled down, placing her legs over my shoulders and gripping her silky cheeks to lift her so I could get my fill of her intoxicating taste. I closed my eyes and pressed my lips to her once more, breathing in her musky, spicy scent. It was what I had smelled on her time and again when we were alone, the smell that had haunted my mind when we were apart. Finally, I opened my mouth and allowed myself to taste the nectar her need and desire had produced for me.

I pressed open-mouthed kisses to the entire length of her heated core, giving each of her lips equal attention, but not using my tongue. I nipped with my lips and sucked her flesh into my mouth at various places, but I wanted to go slow and memorize every contour and ridge. She was moaning incoherently and tugging on my hair with her hands. I didn't allow her to wiggle or buck her hips and I could feel her tension building with each pass of my lips.

"Do you want my tongue, Fiammetta?" I asked, nuzzling her wet flesh and nipping at her clit.

"Yes!" She moaned in frustration. "Lick me. Fuck me with your tongue. I need you now!"

I smiled and stared at her beautiful quivering flesh, feeling my need for her expand until my thoughts were consumed only with possessing her. She let out a frustrated groan and I lowered my head, pressing my tongue flat against her clit and rubbing in a slow circle. She cried out in agony at my touch and I moaned against her as her juices washed over my tongue. I opened my mouth and stroked from bottom to top, lingering on her clit and then repeated the action, lapping up as much of her juices as possible.

I felt her flesh begin to tremble when her response grew and increased my pace, dipping my tongue inside her entrance to caress that tender flesh, rubbing in and out, causing her to move her hips to my rhythm. Lifting her higher, I plunged my tongue inside, stroking within her walls and sucking the tender outer flesh until she exploded in my mouth with a loud cry and a shout of my name. I continued to stroke her until I felt her trembling slow and her cries grow quiet. Then I moved up her body, nipping each nipple on the way to claim her mouth while I pressed my cock into her slick core inch by inch.

She lifted her hips, drawing me inside, urging me with her hands. I held her hips steady and continued to press slowly, wanting the feeling of our first time to be branded in my memory. She was so tight and hot, I growled my pleasure low in my throat. When she contracted her muscles around me, I groaned and slid the rest of the way home, stopping to enjoy the feel of her until she encased me completely. She pulled her mouth from mine and nipped my neck. I tilted my head back and stared into her eyes as I pulled out completely and then slowly slid back in, her tight wetness torturing me.

"No." She moaned. I stilled, waiting. "Faster!" She urged.

I lifted my hips and slammed into her hard and fast. Her response was to moan and wrap her legs around my waist, which caused me to lose all of my control. I picked up the pace, stroking with deep, quick thrusts until we were both panting and screaming out our mutual release.

I shifted over to my side, pulling her into my embrace lazily. It was a while before either of us could speak or breathe normally. She broke the silence first with a satisfied grin on her face, "God, I could have killed you, you bastard."

I smiled and caressed up and down her hip with my hand, pressing her against me. "I couldn't help it."

"You were torturing me and you enjoyed it!" She whacked me with a pillow.

"I was just enjoying every bit of you, you're incredible and you taste so…" I closed my eyes. I couldn't find the words to describe what I was thinking. "You're incredible." I kissed her shoulder. "And sexy." I moved to her collarbone. "And addictive." My lips made their way up her neck to the spot behind her ear. "I wanted to memorize every inch of you," I whispered.

********** ********** **********

_Stephanie's POV_

The full moon was out and lit up the woods like a beacon. I looked around and saw trees, trees, and more trees. The woods weren't thick, but I could tell we were definitely not in civilization. The fall winds blew through the trees, scattering myriad leaves around onto the ground. It was too dark to tell the colors, but I imagined bright reds, oranges, and yellows mingling together to form a festive collage. I cocked my head to the side and gave Carlos a 'where the hell did you bring me' look.

He smiled and grabbed my hand, pulling me between trees, over logs, and through underbrush. After we had been walking for a solid twenty minutes, I started to ask him what we were doing when he placed a finger over my lips. _Don't speak._

_Okay_. Of course, I was continually using my precognition ability to watch for danger, but his demand sent tingles down my spine, and not the good kind. I looked around, half expecting someone or something to jump out at us, when a figure did jump out from behind a huge boulder.

We both jumped back and, as the figure closed in on us, the first thought in my head was, 'Why didn't we bring Morelli with us?'


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: Standard – JE's stuff belongs to her, I'm just playing with it._

_A/N: Another big thanks to my two Babes, M&M! You guys are amazing! Also, thanks to my readers who encourage me and drive me onward with your appreciation! You make the effort worthwhile!_

********** ********** **********

_Joe's POV_

I could tell by the way Jensen stiffened that I'd said something wrong, but for the hell of me, I couldn't figure out what it was. I stroked her arm, looking into her eyes for clues. I was dying to peek inside her mind, but didn't dare. When nothing jumped out at me, I decided honesty was the best policy in this situation.

"Okay Fiammetta, I know I just said something wrong. What was it?" I laced my fingers with hers, waiting patiently for her answer.

She looked at me for a moment. "What's with calling me Fiammetta?"

I hesitated only a second before saying, "She was Boccaccio's muse. He wrote about her in almost all of his prose romances. I liked his depiction of her in the Decameron best: assertive, clever, independent, and resourceful...a very memorable woman." I nipped her shoulder lightly. "You remind me of her, except I have my own addition."

Her glossy eyes stared into mine when she asked, "What's that?"

"In Italian, Fiammetta means 'little fiery one' and that," I leaned down to caress her breast with my lips for a beat, "is what you are."

My tongue flicked her nipple before I pulled it into my mouth, swirling my tongue around it while I gently sucked. I heard her breath catch and a light gasp escape her mouth, so I increased my suction and slid my hand from her arm to her other breast to roll the nipple between thumb and forefinger.

She arched her back, pressing her breasts into me, her hips moving with the rhythm of my tongue. "I swear to God, Superman, you're not torturing me this time." She pushed me over onto my back and straddled my hips, sliding herself onto my already painful erection in the process. "Now, we're going to do this my way. If you thought I was fiery before, just wait."

I was looking forward to it. The fire was already consuming me and she hadn't even moved her hips, yet. This was more than desire and it frightened me a little. Actually, it frightened me a lot.

Just as the warm sexy feelings she was giving me started chasing away my thoughts, Jensen rocked her hips against me and I felt the earth tilt on its axis. Damn, this was going to be good.

********** ********** **********

_Stephanie's POV_

Carlos grabbed my wrist and yanked me close to him. I saw the world around me go wobbly and then still when he slowed time. We looked at each other and approached the frozen figure. I looked at the face, not recognizing the person, and cast a nervous glance toward Carlos.

"Yesat Menuen."

"Who?"

"Bad news. He's an assassin."

"Jaci..." A trembling hand flew to cover my lips in fear.

"Let's go. Be alert. He _never_ travels alone. He always takes a team with him." His hand tightened on my wrist and he started power walking through the woods.

"How far away is the cabin?"

"About twenty feet."

I looked around. I didn't see anything that resembled a dwelling twenty feet ahead and I was hoping that it was concealed. I reminded myself that it wasn't daylight and to stay calm.

I could feel the tension building in Carlos' body until we approached the twenty foot mark. Panic started to rise in my throat as he looked around from right to left...as if he were searching for something.

I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings and, if Carlos hadn't been watching, I would have toppled off into the unknown. Stunned, I looked around and saw that I had almost fallen into a huge black pit. It was more like a crater. It was at least thirty feet in diameter and the smell of fresh earth told me it was recent.

The entire outer rim of the crater was charred. The awful truth of what had happened sunk in. I heard a sound that reminded me of a siren filling the air. It took Carlos gripping me to his chest in a fierce hug to make me realize that I was creating the noise.

I pulled my head back and twisted my hands into the front of his t-shirt. "Where is our son? Where is Tank?"

We took off in a hurry, splitting up and searching the surrounding area. I didn't see anything, not even a splinter of wood. It was as if the place had vanished into thin air…or was consumed by a massive fireball. The smell and sight spoke unmentionable to me. I started feeling deep-seated anger emerging from my soul. Damn these hordes hunting my family! I would make them pay; every last one of the bastards who were trying to destroy my life.

Carlos and I met on the other side of the scorched crater and I saw a light colored object in his hands. I felt the rage pouring off his body as we neared each other. I looked down at the fingers fiercely gripping the object and realized it was Jaci's little blue knitted cap. The top of it was singed from the fire.

"Where is he?!" I yelled out, gripping his hands, digging my fingers in.

He disengaged my hands with a look of misery on his face and drew me into a tumultuous embrace, his arms clinging to my body as his trembled with unabashed fear and anger.

"My baby..." I choked the words out on a sob.

I felt Carlos shaking his head, then he pressed his face to my neck and I felt moisture. I was stricken by the emotion he was showing at that moment. Was all hope gone, then?

"Carlos?"

"Babe, I don't know. Tank would have called me if it were possible. It either means...something unforeseen happened, that he has no way to contact me, or it's not safe to contact me." He lifted his head and pressed a kiss to my temple. "We'll search for them."

I felt myself slowly shifting my head side to side in denial and laid my head on his shoulder.

"Oh, now this is sweet," said a deep, male voice from somewhere behind Carlos.

I knew it could only be one person. I had been watching the future and saw no one, so the fact that he could sneak up on me meant he had to be an immortal. Carlos and I both turned to face Drognan as he approached us. My annoyance and fear turned to pure terror when I saw that he held my child in his arms.

"I just wanted to give you one last chance to see him before I take him. He's an anomaly; an unmentionable 'so powerful' that all others will bow to his abilities. And here's another secret. He was born immortal." He gave an evil smile and I saw that his teeth looked sharp like a dragon's teeth. He really was playing on his own name too much for my liking.

"You won't keep him." Carlos' voice was quiet. Only those who knew him would hear the death in his voice.

"Au contraire," Drognan said with a gleeful laugh. "I will keep him. I will raise him and make sure his powers are used where they are most needed. He won't know you and he won't know the idiotic unmentionable world, or the human world. He will bring justice for..." he broke off and gave us a grin that made my limbs weak with fear. "I guess you'll have to wait to find out."

Neither Carlos nor I dared to move. We didn't want Jaci hurt and we knew he could kill us if he wanted to. My guess was that he planned to make us suffer, but I wasn't willing to take the chance on being wrong.

"Just to make sure you're both a little busy, I've released my friends. Tsk, tsk on freezing them, Manoso. I think we'll level the playing field a bit." He sent a blast to Carlos that dropped him to his knees. I could see that he was in unimaginable pain and he couldn't move or speak, but struggled against the torture trying to break free.

Drognan laughed and disappeared. I saw Menuen and six others closing in from where we'd left him. I stepped forward to shield Carlos, who was still battling the torture Drognan had inflicted upon him. It was up to me to keep us alive. I stilled all emotion from my mind until I heard the _Capoeira_ drumbeat that had played during my training. Cold Stephanie was back. I charged Menuen and surprised him with a spinning kick to the head. My feet were back on the ground, balanced and ready before he hit the dirt. Future movements of the remaining assailants flashed though my mind and I took them out one by one, spinning, kicking and twisting.

I jumped and attacked viciously anyone who approached me. Finally, all six of Menuen's team were lying on the ground motionless. I stood in front of him, breathing hard. I had some cuts and bruises from scuffles, but was otherwise unharmed.

When he was able to speak, Menuen smirked and taunted, "They said you were dangerous, Doll, but they failed to say how accurate you are."

In my mind, I saw Menuen pull out his weapon to shoot Carlos and I decided I would kill him before he had a chance to fire. I jumped into the air and flew into him, carrying him away from the clearing where my son had resided, my anger fueling my need for revenge. We struggled and I felt him reaching for his soul killer.

When we were a thousand feet above the ground, I said, "Nothing personal, but you're a complication I don't need right now." His eyes grew wide as I released my grip. He didn't scream or beg; he calmly watched me as he fell and lifted his weapon, taking aim.

I moved to fly out of his range, but he squeezed off a shot before I could get very far. I felt the force of the bullet slam into my back and I began to fall. I struggled to stay awake and slow down my descent, but the pain took my breath away. I hoped Carlos could hear me as my consciousness slipped away. _I'm so sorry, Carlos. I love you. I love you._

********** ********** **********

_Joe's POV_

I was being tortured to life. Jensen and her tiny hips were bringing such a sweet torture to my body that I was starting to come alive from it. All the pieces of the puzzle started fitting. I'd heard the term mind-blowing sex before, but what about life-shattering? This certainly qualified.

Just when I thought she was going to end the torture, she raised her hips and held her position, bracing her hands on my chest. "Tell me again, Superman." Her voice was husky and sexy as hell.

I groaned. There was no control left in me. She'd been bringing to me to the edge only to pull back at the last possible moment, I was sure my balls were ready to pack up and go find another body to attach themselves to. In a flash, I willed her beneath me on the bed. With a growl, I slammed inside her, causing her to emit a surprised gasp.

"What are you up to?" She asked with a grin.

"No more," I answered thickly. My voice was gruffer than I intended, but I was a man in need. I set a quick pace, attacking her neck and shoulders with kisses and bites, drawing out moans of pleasure from her.

By the time she fell over the edge, I was nearly insane. I managed one final deep thrust and yelled when I exploded inside her. God, no woman had ever sent me into such frenzy.

I looked down into her beautiful face, wondering how long I could keep her in the bed when someone started banging on the door. With a sigh, I kissed Jensen's nose and stood, willing our clothing back onto our bodies. Jensen shot off the bed and disappeared.

I yanked it open to find Diesel standing on the other side, the expression on his face told me something was very wrong.

"You need to go to Ranger and Steph."

I pushed past him and started down the hall to their bedroom.

"Not that way," he shook his head and blew out a breath in frustration. "They went to get Jaci and Tank, but they were ambushed by an assassin and his men. Steph's been shot, Tank's missing and ...Drognan has Jaci."

"Fuck!" I shouted. "Why did they leave?"

"We don't have time to discuss that now. Ranger will have to answer your questions. You need to leave right now. Oliver is MIA and Steph was shot with a soul killer bullet. She doesn't have long." He gave me a look that said 'get a move on' and then turned and walked back to his room.

Running my fingers through my mussed hair, I blew out a breath. "And me without any Maalox..."

I closed my eyes and willed myself by Stephanie's side.

My gut clenched from the smell in the air around me – it was a mixture of blood and death. I opened my eyes and the scene in front of me almost made my heart stop.


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer: Standard – JE's stuff belongs to her, I'm just playing with it._

_A/N: Thanks everyone for your support and reviews! I wouldn't make it through this story without M&M. I'd still be back at chapter four without their urging and encouragement. Love ya, ladies!_

********** ********** **********

_Joe's POV_

Ranger was on his knees, pain evident in his eyes, which were focused on his wife who lay in Tank's arms saturating them both in her blood. Tank's eyes found mine, his filled with grief and sorrow. "She just stopped breathing!"

_No!_ I didn't know what I could do, but I wasn't going to let it end like this. I ran over to him and placed my hands over the hole in Stephanie's chest, my hands immediately growing wet with the red stickiness that was still oozing from the hole. "Why didn't anyone stem the flow of blood?" I yelled, sending a glare at Tank. "She's bleeding out!"

Without waiting for an answer, I willed the bullet into my hand. The sight of it shocked me. I pocketed it for a closer look later and closed my eyes, focusing all my concentration on Stephanie. In my mind, I searched through her body for the damage caused by the strange bullet. Suddenly, as if a screen were in front of my eyes, I could see her insides. Her cells, veins, capillaries, and organs were displayed before me one by one.

Her heart had a gaping hole pierced straight through the center. It would have been damage far beyond repair if she were in the hands of a human doctor. I focused on the damage, willing the muscle fibers to mend. I was totally captivated when I watched the hole begin to close and then her heart started to beat again. I didn't dare pull my eyes away until I noticed a steady rhythm. Satisfied, I looked at the tissue and bone surrounding it and repaired a nick in her left lung and severs in her spine and sternum. With that completed, I turned my eyes on the torn flesh of her chest and back; willing the flesh back together to close up the gaping holes felt almost easy compared to the internal repairs. When everything was as it should be, I willed every last drop of her blood back into her body.

I was afraid to remove my hands from her for fear that I missed some damage. I sought throughout her body with my senses and felt that she was physically fine, but something felt off. Diesel had called the bullet a soul killer. Think man, think! What was I missing? Then it dawned on me: I couldn't sense anything in her mind! Stephanie's soul was missing and I had no idea how to bring it back.

I looked at Tank, "What can you tell me about the bullet I extracted from her chest? How does it work?"

His wet eyes blinked a few times. I could see a tremble in his lower lip and felt an uncharacteristic amount of compassion for this warrior who had been through hell today. I saw clearly - through his memory - the events he'd endured in the past two hours. I felt his fear and anguish over not being able to protect Jaci and to save Stephanie.

"Tank! Focus, man! Something's not right and it has to do with that bullet. Tell me what you know!"

My anger hit home, the soldier in him snapped back into action. "It emits a frequency that dissipates the body's energy so the soul starts to break free from the flesh."

_Shit! What if I do this all wrong? _"Okay." I closed my eyes and decided the best thing I could do was to just talk to her. "Stephanie, I know you're still around here, but you're leaving fast. You body is ready and waiting for you, free of pain." I felt foolish and infantile murmuring the first words that sprang into my mind. I had no idea if immortals could even do this sort of thing; it wasn't like there was a manual.

Tossing aside the thought of calling her back, I placed my hands on her again and searched for the damned frequency. The key had to be in whatever was zinging through her cells, right? I looked through her body, now in perfect working order, and searched every nook and cranny. I liked seeing the organs alive and working well instead of being splayed all over the ground or pavement as they usually were when I viewed them in my job.

Just when I'd exhausted all possible areas, I saw a flash of red and latched onto it with my inner mind. It was about the size of a softball and I was surprised at how fast it moved. I wondered how I could have missed it. I followed it and watched, horrified, as it sucked up her life force from her cells while they passed through it. They emerged grayed and lifeless.

Enraged, I held it steady and then compressed it with my mind, smiling when I saw a red, filmy stream of smoky substance floating off into her body and re-entering her cells. I squeezed and squeezed, noting that the ball was shrinking and her cells were once again teeming with life. I disintegrated the rest of the ball and watched until her essence returned to its home. When the final remnants of her force were home, I removed my hands and looked at her.

I choked on my disappointment when her eyes remained shut and no sign of the person we knew and loved was evident. My gut told me I had done all I could and I cast a glance at Ranger and willed his torture away, watching when his body sagged with relief. "I'd apologize for not getting to you sooner, but I did what I had to do to save her."

"No," he rasped. "You needed to help her." He struggled to his feet and staggered over to Tank, who was still holding Stephanie in his arms, looking forlorn. "Babe," he called out to her softly. "Wake up, Stephanie."

I watched the scene, feeling helpless for the first time since finding out I was invincible. I pulled a wry face at the irony of it all. I was still unable to help her when she needed me most; I was always a moment too late. Closing my eyes, I pressed my hands into my hair and sighed deeply. _I'm missing something. What is it?_

"Okay, what else do these bullets do? I'm missing something. Is there a cure for the effects?"

"The only _cure_ is to not get shot. No one has ever survived a shot from a soul killer." Tank's words were too quiet for a man his size. I observed Ranger's shoulders tighten and his jaw clench.

"What happens to the person's soul?"

Ranger sighed and turned to fix me with his distraught gaze. "It dissipates. It collects and then releases out of the body."

"I saw the energy field inside her gathering up her soul piece by piece and I reversed it…she should be back…" I was baffled. I thought I'd done the right thing. "Could any of it have escaped?"

Ranger shrugged. "Sure. Anything's possible…but that would mean she's out," he indicated to the woods with his hand, "here somewhere."

That was it. I didn't feel she was dead, but she wasn't complete, either. Afraid of what I'd find, I closed my eyes and willed all unseen beings to come into focus in my mind. When I opened my eyes, the scene before me elicited a shocked yell from me.

Embarrassed, I looked at Tank and Ranger and shrugged out a 'my bad' kind of gesture.

Standing, practically attached to the ground, were the souls of hundreds of people. There were so many, there wasn't any space between them. We were standing in the midst of them without knowing it. I began to wonder if it was always that way and decided that I didn't really want to know what the streets of Trenton looked like, for instance. I looked at the ethereal beings. They were standing stock still, somber expressions on their faces, and no acknowledgement of our presence. I walked past each being, staring at them all, noticing that they looked just how they must have looked when they died.

Time passed slowly and I walked, searching through the souls for Stephanie. I knew she was here, but I didn't see her among the spirits. When every face had been searched, I sank to my knees in hopeless acceptance of her fate. I felt moisture dropping onto my face and looked up to see that clouds had gathered and a gentle rain had begun.

I was so bereaved that I almost missed the wisp of smoke in the air above the trees. Confused, I stood and stared. Before my eyes, the smoke took the form of a woman and then broke apart to hover like heavy fog. Turning toward Tank and Ranger, I shouted across the clearing to them, "Where did she get shot, Tank?"

He handed Stephanie to Ranger, who, in his weakened state, sank to his knees to support the weight of her body. I couldn't believe my eyes when Tank lifted his arm and pointed to where the wisp of fog was undulating and changing form. I remembered the flash of Tank's memory that had entered my mind. Stephanie had killed the assassin by dropping him from a very high distance. He had pulled off one last shot before he slammed into the trees below. The shot had hit her in the back.

I narrowed my eyes and studied the billowing mass and began to float up toward it.

"What are you doing, man?" Tank shouted.

I ignored him and continued my ascension, levitating above the ground as if I were in an invisible elevator. In fact, it was the way I imagined getting up to her. I was new at this 'He-Man, Master of the Universe' thing, so I had to wing it and use something that worked for me.

When I got up to the cloudy substance, I 'stood' watching it for a few moments before calling out, "Stephanie."

The mass quivered and formed a ball and then lost its shape again. The hope surging through my veins nearly doubled my heart rate and I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. "Stephanie, it's Joe. Can you talk to me?"

The form undulated and swirled, then spread out and was still. I closed my eyes, swallowing hard and then snapped them open. There wasn't enough of her spirit out of her body to create a form…and there wasn't enough in her to make a whole person. Maybe the two would be attracted to each other…

I started to ride my 'elevator' down when reality smacked into my brain. "I'm a fucking immortal. I'm not riding an elevator!" I 'zipped' myself to where Tank and Ranger stood. It was the word I thought of when it happened, but I just sort of flew to them in hyper speed and was standing beside them before I even realized I had moved. "Hell yeah," I muttered.

Ranger and Tank looked at me like I'd sprouted saplings out of my ears. I didn't have time to appease them. "Give her to me, Ranger." I reached my arms out and saw him tighten his grip. Rolling my eyes in a manner that would make my Burg mother proud, I willed Stephanie into my arms and zipped up to the mist in the sky.

"Morelli!" Ranger yelled out in anger and frustration.

Ignoring him, I lifted her body into the center of the smoky spirit and watched. It swirled around her, dipping and weaving, and then pulled back and swirled above her rapidly. It was as if…

Slipping my left arm around her waist, I held her against me, back to chest, and dug my pen knife from my back pocket. "I'm sorry, Stephanie," I whispered and kissed her hair while I plunged the knife into her chest. Ranger let out a roar of rage; I hoped like hell I was doing the right thing or he was going to kill me, even if I was supposed to be immortal.

Slipping the knife into my back pocket, I lifter her into the mist again and watched as it swirled, dipped and searched around her. The minute the mist came into contact with her blood, it looked as if a vortex formed and the spirit was sucked into her body through the tiny fissure I'd created in her chest. As the last little stream slipped inside, I saw her eyes pop open and she gasped in surprise and pain. "Oh!"

"Shh. It's okay, Steph. I've got you," I murmured, relief coursing through my body. I gripped her tight against my chest and noticed her pressing a hand to her wound. "I'll fix that." I placed my hand over hers and healed the flesh with a thought.

I flashed us out of the sky and reappeared next to Ranger and Tank, handing Stephanie into Ranger's outstretched arms. I was expecting a confrontation, but he just gripped her to him and placed a trembling kiss on her forehead. He cut his eyes to me and said in a low voice, "Thanks, man."

I lifted my head slightly in acknowledgement and cleared my throat. This emotional stuff was getting to be a bit much. "So…maybe we need to rethink some things?"

"Yeah. Stephanie and I were just talking about how you need to stay by her side. I was going to ask you to guard both her and Jaci…" His voice became tight and he looked toward the crater.

I clapped a hand on the back of his shoulder. "We'll get him back."

He nodded and looked at me. "Gotta go through a lot of bodies to get there."

"Did I say I wanted it to be easy?"

For the second time this evening, I was hit with a wave of compassion. This time for the man who had been my nemesis at one point, the man who had won the heart of the woman I loved, the guy who always one-upped me at every turn. I was now in a position to switch our luck and I could only feel for the guy. His wife had practically been killed in front of him, his infant son had been stolen from under his nose and now, still to come, we were all going to face the battle of our lives. On top of it all, he wasn't immortal, and I was sure that he needed some sleep.

In fact, both Ranger and Stephanie needed sleep. I glanced at Tank and he, too, looked ready to drop. I knew there was no way I could convince them to take a break, so I just looked at the crater and mentally rebuilt the ground and put the cabin back in place. "Why don't we all go inside and get something hot to drink? I could use some coffee and we need a plan."

Tank and Ranger both nodded. Stephanie, finally waking up out of her stupor, turned her clear blue gaze to my face. "Joe…"

I walked over and pressed my lips to her forehead and tipped her face up. "I would have done it a hundred times over, Steph." I gave her my most reassuring smile and flicked my head toward the cabin. "Let's go inside."

I walked ahead of everyone into the cabin, leading them into my web so to speak. The minute they were all inside and seated around the dining table, I put them to sleep, willing them to slumber until their eyelids popped open and they could no longer sleep. Once they were slumped over on the table top, I willed Ranger and Stephanie into the double bed in the back bedroom and Tank to the single bed in the alcove at the top of the stairs.

When they were all settled, I pointed my finger to the fireplace and a merry fire flickered to life and quickly grew to full blaze. _Damn, where was that trick when I was dating the Perrone twins?_ I sat in the overstuffed armchair and propped my feet up on the ottoman, keeping watch over the premises. I looked at the stand next to me and the magazines from my home back in Trenton appeared, along with a cold beer. The only things missing were a Rangers game and Bob.

I picked up a motorcycle magazine to look through the latest speed bikes out when I sensed a presence on the couch to my right. "I wondered when I would see you again."

I turned my head to meet Jensen's eyes. She looked down at her nails and puffed out a breath of air in her cheeks before slowly blowing it out. "Yeah, I just needed…"

"I know." I went back to my beer and magazine. I wasn't going to force her. It had never worked with Stephanie and somehow I knew, without a doubt, that it wouldn't work with her. If this was something she wanted, she was going to have to choose it. I was done chasing, but I also didn't play games. "I'm here when you're ready."

I sensed her shock rather than saw it. She didn't speak and I didn't expect her to. I cast a sidelong glance at her and noticed the fatigue around her eyes. She had not gotten any sleep since we'd started this journey and it showed. She was beautiful as ever, but there were dark circles under her eyes and her mouth was drawn into a tight line from the extra energy it took to stay awake. Knowing I would catch hell for it later, I put her to sleep as well and got up to settle her onto the couch, pressing a kiss to her temple before settling back down with my beer and magazine.

I was just getting into an article about the Suzuki Hayabusa when Batiste appeared in the matching chair to the left of me. Sighing, I put the magazine down and took a pull on my beer. "Well?" I asked, leveling a stare in his direction.

"It's done."

I nodded. "You've heard what happened here?"

He gave a curt nod, pulling his hand down his face in a sign of frustration. "Carlos knows better than that."

"We all make mistakes when we're upset…or scared. I believe he truly thought they could get in and get out." And here I was defending him. Since when had I become a Crusader for Manoso's cause?

"I won't mention it to him. He's paid a high enough price, I don't need to add to the coals on his head." Batiste turned his attention to me. "Great job with Stephanie. Sometimes necessity is a wonderful teacher."

I bit back a nasty retort and nodded, swallowing another mouthful of my cold brew. I stared at the bottle, watching the white foam slide back down the inside to reform on top of the amber liquid. "How can I help Katrine?" The question had been nagging me since I hadn't been able to help her back at the other cabin.

He stared at the fire for a few minutes. I could sense his hesitation. He had something important to tell me and he was weighing his words before speaking, so I waited.

"You won't be able to do anything for Katrine until you face Drognan. He has taken a piece of her spirit and injected it into his own." Batiste paused, hoping I would formulate the rest of the situation. I did, but I waited to make him tell me. "She'll always be vulnerable to him unless he is dead and you can't kill him unless she's near. As you saw today, the soul has its own agenda when released from the flesh."

I sat forward, interested in his words. "She would eventually wake up, but I hope that doesn't happen. She would be a living, breathing human being. She would walk, talk, eat, and go through the motions of life, but everything that makes her Katrine would be gone. The love she has for Diesel, the compassion that drives her, even her abilities…they're all slaves inside Drognan's mind, to be used for his bidding now."

"So, she has to be with me when I kill him…"

"And you have to make sure her soul finds its way home."

"Okay." Sounded easy, so it was probably the most difficult task anyone could assign me…ever.

"It's not an assignment, Morelli." Batiste said, quirking his lips in a strange smile. "It's a choice and you have to decide if you want to do it because you won't have the opportunity to change your mind when the time comes."

"Okay," I sighed. I looked over at him and asked, "Want a beer?"

He looked at the fresh bottle I held up and shook his head, producing a generous glass of red wine instead. We shared a polite smile and held our beverages up in silent toast before enjoying them in silence. If it weren't for the assassins, bounty hunters and downright crazy people tailing us, this would almost be pleasant.

"Any sign of the others?"

Batiste rubbed his forehead with the top of his thumb and forefinger. "Drognan has them all detained. My intel says he hasn't harmed them, but I have no way of knowing how long it might stay that way, especially when he learns of your little miracle."

I hissed breath in through my teeth while fresh anger stirred to life within me. "I didn't think this day could get any worse," I decided.

"Just stay alert. There is no telling what might happen."

"You're preachin' to the choir, Reverend."

We both sipped our alcohol and stared into the fire, enjoying the quiet moment. God knew when we'd get another one.


	13. Chapter 13

_Disclaimer: Standard – JE's stuff belongs to her, I'm just playing with it._

_A/N: Many thanks to my readers for your support and to M&M for your great editing skills. J_

********** ********** **********

_Joe's POV_

"While we have a moment, you and I should discuss some things in regard to the expectations of immortals," Batiste said, turning to me.

"Okay, sure." I leaned back in my seat and set the second empty beer bottle down. "Expectations? Who do we report to?"

Batiste contemplated my question for a full minute before answering, "Well, no one really, except other immortals. There are those who don't care what you do and those who expect you to live up to a certain…standard."

"Standard?"

"You know the spiel. Treat the mortals fairly, don't use your powers to destroy the planet or innocent people, and don't use your powers to change a person or to gain affection from another." He crossed his outstretched legs at the ankle and laced his fingers together over his flat stomach. "The best one to remember is to not use your powers on another immortal unprovoked."

"Good to know." I watched him stare into the fire as if nothing else in the world existed. He was in such deep thought and so still, I wondered where a man like this would come from. "What's your story? Did you always know you were immortal?"

He didn't move, didn't even appear to breathe. I thought he was going to ignore my question and then he quietly answered, "No. I had no idea I was immortal until I was about your age."

I raised an eyebrow in question.

He sighed and continued, "I was married and had two children, another one on the way. We lived in Dinant, Belgium, in 1914. It was August, during the German reprisal. German troops had been fighting the resistance of residents throughout eastern and central Belgium.

One morning, I was at work and received news that the terraced houses we lived in were set on fire during a skirmish and my family was executed when they fled. The German troops had been worried about guerilla fighters from Belgium, so they went on the offensive. It was in retaliation to King Albert I's refusal to let the Germans pass through Belgium en route to Paris."

He paused and I was grateful. A wave of dread was building inside me from the weight of sorrow in his words. "My god, why?"

"They were making a statement. They had done it in Aarschot, Andenne, Tamines, and eventually in Leuven as well. There was no rhyme or reason to who they chose or why they were chosen, they were just trying to discourage residents from fighting them." He blew out a breath and looked up to the ceiling before saying, "My family was killed on August twenty-third. I was twenty five and healthy, so I joined the Belgian army. I had nothing left to live for, so I decided to die for the only other thing I had left: my country."

"Roger Thoran was my bunkmate at training camp. He's immortal, as well, but he keeps a low profile." He flicked his eyes to the side table and produced two cups of coffee for us. "One morning the Germans marched against us and there were a series of battles taking place. I saw him get hit in the chest and the bullet went through and through. I screamed and ran to his side, but he hadn't fallen. I was shocked and terrified. He simply winked at me," he chuckled at the memory, "and then kept right on running with our unit. I followed him, determined to get answers the first chance I got."

We both took advantage of his pause and sipped the hot brew before he continued his story. "When I finally cornered him, he tried to dismiss what had happened by saying he had some kind of special luck that happened to him once in a while and not to worry about it. Of course, I obsessed over it, but I never asked him again. Later, on a crisp October morning, he woke me from a sound sleep and warned me to get out of the barracks. Mere seconds after I left, the building exploded along with all of the men inside. I knew that Thoran didn't have a chance of surviving that explosion and I just sank to the ground and wished I'd been able to save him and refused to believe he was dead. I'd lost my family and I refused to lose my friend as well."

Batiste turned his head and gave me a half smile. "A heartbeat later, his body appeared next to me and I was so surprised I almost shot him. He was badly burned and unconscious. I decided that if I could wish him out of the inferno, I could wish him to be healed. So, I did it and I watched as his injured body healed right in front of my eyes. I remember, he didn't say thank you or anything. He just stood there staring at me and then finally croaked out, 'You're an immortal' as if that should explain everything."

I shook my head in amazement. "That had to be wild."

"Of course, I thought maybe he had some residual damage from the explosion. He got angry and asked why I didn't save the rest of the guys. Well, I wondered that, too. So I just looked at the ground in front of us and focused on each and every guy in my unit, imagining them there and they appeared. A few were dead, most were badly injured and burned, and a couple were scared shitless…literally." He sipped his coffee with a reflective look in his eyes. "Thoran said it was time to learn and he told me to heal them, then we'd bring back the two that had died."

"Shit." I said. "I had a chance to process what I was before I attempted it…"

"Right." He began drumming his fingers on the arm of the chair. "I healed the men pretty much the same way that I had healed Thoran. Then he showed me how to heal a dead person. Mind you, with the standard mortal it is easy. With unmentionable mortals, there are complications." He waved his hand in dismissal at me when I gave him a slightly panicked look. "No, you actually did everything right for Stephanie. It's amazing, really."

"No kidding?"

"It was perfect. You're quite instinctual, Morelli."

I felt a surge or pride at my accomplishment and felt no shame for it. "Thanks, man."

He resumed his story with a slight nod, "Anyway, he showed me how to channel the soul back to the body. In everything we do, we deal with human souls. They drive the person. They are the energy that makes individuals who they are. Remember that. I'll show you some things if we're together the next time you need to bring someone back, but I honestly feel that you're fine without my help in this area."

"Can you bring an immortal back?"

He gave me a look that said 'you know better than that' and I had to think about it for a minute. "Are you saying that you can't kill an immortal?"

"No, I'm not saying that." He leaned forward and fixed me with an intense stare. "Immortals either exist or they don't. Your body is just your form, you can change it. All you are is spirit. Immortals don't have 'souls' because there is nothing to survive beyond what we are. Your spirit either exists or it has been destroyed. There is no death. We simply just cease to exist."

"Wait, wait, wait. How do we make an immortal 'cease to exist' then?"

He smiled coldly at me and I got an eerie feeling in my gut. "You destroy them."

"As in kill?"

"No, as in destroy."

"I don't understand." He was starting to piss me off. In my world, destroy and kill meant the same fucking thing.

"If you kill a human, they have a soul that survives. Nothing can destroy a soul, they are meant to live on forever. It's just that once they are out of the body, they don't really do much but exist. They don't become anything, they don't interact, they just are." Batiste sounded as frustrated as I felt. "If you destroy an immortal, there is nothing left. The immortal is completely eradicated, never to exist again in any form."

"Why the hell are we called immortals if we can be destroyed? I always took the term immortal to mean indestructible." I was shaking my head, I couldn't help it. This seemed like a load of shit to me.

"Immortal just means that we're not mortal. We are not all powerful, all seeing beings. We are spirits that live in human form, or whatever form we want, on earth or wherever. If you wanted, you could live as a rock on Mars. You don't need air, you don't need blood, and you don't need that body." I couldn't see any benefit to being an immortal over a mortal. What was the point? I gave him a tight smile. Given all this new information, I wasn't happy about any type of killing or destroying that might have become necessary. "Is there a time limit on when you can bring a human back?"

"Yes. If you bring a soul back to a dead body, it can't live within that body. For instance, a frozen body won't work because there has to be living, breathing flesh intact." He steepled his fingers beneath his chin. "Basically, the body has to be fresh with the life source, the blood, still there. The soul lives in the blood because the blood feeds the other organs. When enough damage is done to a part of the body so that it can't survive, the soul detaches itself so it won't die as well. Understood?"

"This is crazy. All this stuff about souls…it's just too much sometimes. That guy that stole Stephanie's soul, Truro, he was nuts. Now there's this Drognan and I can't forget Kelvina. There is a lot of obsession with souls. Is everyone like this? Will I have to deal with this stuff on a regular basis?" I was more than creeped out by the level of attack the people I cared about were enduring.

"I can shed some light on that area for you. First, yes, you will always deal with souls. There is always death and, where humans are concerned, where there is death there are souls releasing." _Wonderful_. "Second, the obsession with souls for these three individuals in particular…maybe this will help: Drognan is their father, so Truro and Kelvina were brothers. They all have the same goal."

Whoa! "Hold on! So, this isn't random. They really want her soul?" He simply nodded his affirmation. "Does she know this?!"

I saw the hesitation in his eyes and stood, pointing my finger at him in accusation. "You son of a bitch!" I was beyond pissed at this point. "Don't you think that would have helped them? Why would you keep information like that from them? How many others are going to come after her?"

Batiste sighed and leaned his head back against the chair. "I didn't intentionally keep it from them. I didn't intentionally tell them, either. The truth is that I just hadn't made the connection that they were all after the same thing until Drognan appeared." He propped his elbow on the edge of the chair's armrest and leaned his head against his fist. "The connection between Kelvina and Truro was no secret. They were quite open about wanting the same thing. I'm not omniscient. I'm just like you. I see what's there and I have a lot of knowledge that I use to make some good assumptions, but I can't see the future and I can't always see the whole truth about a situation until I get more information."

I sat down, deflated and agitated. "Why do they want her soul, specifically?"

"She can see into the true future. She doesn't even realize her full realm of capabilities, yet. Her gift is dangerous in the hands of an immortal. Can you even imagine it?" He stared at me intently. The reality of what he was saying struck me deep inside. If I knew the future with my powers I'd be…dangerous, unstoppable. I got a cold chill down my spine.

"What does that have to do with her soul, though?"

"The soul is the person, Morelli. Abilities aren't in the flesh; they are in the soul, in the person themselves. If they absorb her soul, they have her power. We can't let that happen." His hand clenched with the finality of his words.

"She's been the target all along, hasn't she?" Suddenly, the reality of what was going on became clear to me. Jaci was just a diversion. They didn't want him, they wanted her. Drognan knew there was no way Stephanie would not come after her son.

"Always."

"Shit. You know what the odds are of getting her to stay back, right?" I rubbed my hand over my face. Of all the fucking complications…Stephanie was too stubborn to not get involved. I felt like my only guarantee would be to lock her up and I knew I could do it, but at what cost?

"What about Jaci, though?"

"He's immortal. It stands to reason he was born with both of his parents' abilities as well as immortality. It could be that Drognan shifted his focus, but I think that he is too impatient to wait for a child to grow up. Taking the soul now would get him nowhere. He would have to wait until Jaci is at full power, till he has full knowledge of what he can do and he's developed his skills." He stood up and walked over to the fire, leaning against the mantle.

"He's immortal? How does that happen?"

"No one knows the real answer to that, but I feel that it has something to do with energy. I don't really know, though. All I know is that we have to keep an eye on her."

I nodded and conjured up another beer. I was going to need it.

********** ********** **********

_Stephanie's POV_

The smell of coffee tantalized my nostrils, pulling me from a deep, satisfying sleep. With a groan, I rubbed my face to wake it up before trying to open my eyes. I couldn't gauge what time it was, but because the room was so bright, I knew it wasn't early morning.

The sound of movement to my left gave me incentive to crack open my eyelids. My vision exploded with little starbursts of yellow sunlight and I snapped them closed again, giving my eyes a chance to recuperate. Beside me, I heard Carlos utter a groan and heave a sigh. I felt as if I had been sleeping for an eternity, and I'd had the strangest dreams…

Remembrance skittered through my brain and I lurched upward into a sitting position, blinking and looking around in search of Jaci, hoping that my memory was false. When I saw no trace of him in the room, tears fell from my eyes unchecked and I silently held myself and cried.

Carlos sat up quickly and drew me into his warm embrace. "We'll get him back, Babe."

"When did we go to sleep? Why? We should be out looking for him!" I knew I sounded hysterical, but I couldn't help it. A maniac had taken my two-day-old son and I couldn't do a thing about it.

"I don't remember going to bed and that's only happened before when drugs were involved." He sounded angry. I pulled my head back and looked him in the eye. "Morelli." He said through his teeth.

We both got up and noticed that we were still fully clothed. A look of understanding passed between us and we exited the bedroom. We entered the kitchen to find Joe in the kitchen flipping French toast and frying bacon. "Joe."

He turned to face us and held up his free hand. "Save it. I know you're pissed and I don't give a flying rat's ass." He paused to turn and flip another piece of French toast. "You were both like the walking dead and you're no good to Jaci that way, so I decided to put you to sleep."

Carlos' nostrils flared. "You had no right to do that to us," he said through his teeth.

"Save it, Manoso. I did what I had to do to get my team in top shape. We have a lot to discuss, so sit down and eat." Joe slapped a plate full of hot French toast onto the table. I sat in front of an empty plate and began loading on slices of the thick, succulent yumminess. Just as I finished pouring syrup over my meal, Joe set the bacon down and I grabbed a handful. It was cooked to perfection, hot and crispy. I bit into a slice, moaning at the smoky hickory flavor.

Carlos grinned and shook his head over his plate while he started cutting up his food. "Babe."

"You're having French toast?"

"After the day I had yesterday, I'm entitled to forget the temple for a morning." He got up to grab the coffee pot. "Coffee?"

I nodded and held up the empty mug in front of me. Tank walked in just as I shoveled a bite of French toast into my mouth and moaned loudly in appreciation at the flavor of the cinnamon Joe had blended into the mixture. He stopped with a pained look on his face and retreated quickly from the room, yelling, "Ranger, do something with that wife of yours. I'm too tired to hear that first thing in the morning!"

Carlos looked up and shot me his 200 watt grin, sending warm fuzzies skittering through my veins. I suddenly remembered how much I missed him and my craving changed from the French toast to Cuban sex god. His eyes darkened when he realized where my thoughts were headed and stood, walked around the table to where I sat and reached down to scoop me into his arms.

He strode across the floor toward the bedroom door, calling out, "Soundproof the room, Morelli. I'm sure no one wants to hear us and I have no intention of being quiet!"

Somehow I was naked before my ass hit the mattress and I wasn't sure how Carlos had gotten himself undressed so quickly, but I was certain that I didn't care once his hands started their slow torture of my body. He traced his fingers along the arches in my feet and then slowly slid his hands up, circling his fingertips around my inner anklebones. He bent down and placed a kiss on each one and I yelped at the shockwaves of pleasure that shot out. Never again would I take my ankles for granted.

He continued the sweet torture up my calves, behind my knees, stroking his tongue along my inner thighs, stopping just short of glory. "God, I love you so much, Babe. I've missed you." He leaned down, spreading my lips apart and dipping his tongue inside, slowly tasting me. A low growl of pleasure left his throat and he pressed in against me, burying his face between my legs and lapping at my wet, swollen flesh.

I had no idea how many times I told him I loved him or how many times I screamed out his name, but I had lost all bodily control by the time he slid up my body and slowly buried himself into me, setting a devastatingly slow rhythm. I begged him to pick up the pace. He kissed me and held me tight against his rock-hard body while he stroked and built up a blaze so strong within me I thought I would burst into flames.

Finally, his need grew so strong that he slipped a hand under my hips, pulling me closer against him as his thrusts quickened and he slammed deeper inside, sending my oversensitive flesh into a haze of wild passion and abandonment. A few more deep thrusts and he followed behind me with a loud yell and a fierce kiss, stealing the breath away from both of us.

When we were finally breathing close to normal, he slipped out and moved over to the side, tugging me against him. "I need you with me always, do you understand? _Always_." I nodded and he buried his face in my neck. "I'll never betray your trust again. Just, please, never turn away from me again."

"Never, Carlos." I kissed his damp hair and clung tightly to him. "I love you."

"I love you, Babe."


	14. Chapter 14

_Disclaimer: Standard – JE's stuff belongs to her, I'm just playing with it._

_A/N: Much love to my readers and reviewers. We're winding down with this one! A special thanks to M&M for helping me with this transitional chapter and pushing me when I was ready to give up._

********** ********** **********

_Stephanie's POV_

Carlos and I had finally come out of our bedroom and eaten the cold French toast that had been left out for us. I was so hungry I didn't care that it was cold and I was pretty sure he didn't, either. After we finished devouring our congealed breakfast, we joined the others in the living room with steaming cups of fresh brewed coffee in hand.

"Paradise restored?" Joe asked, his words dry and flat. I flipped him off and sat on the couch next to Jensen, my gaze followed my husband's ass all the way over to the arm chair he seated himself on. I didn't need to use my ability to read her mind to know she was thoroughly pissed off.

I knew Jensen pretty well since she had been with us for the past month of my pregnancy. The threats on my life and against our family were so frequent that Carlos and I each had a security detail. I had Javi, Jensen, and Batiste with me at all times, especially when Carlos wasn't with me. Carlos had Tank, Lynck, and Aric, whom I was not allowed to spend time with alone. Once Carlos had found out what had transpired between Aric and myself during my training sessions, he laid down the law. I tolerated it for two reasons: one, I loved him and it was a small concession to make; two, I didn't always trust Aric to act honorably toward me.

I leaned closer to Jensen and murmured, "You okay, Jen?"

She turned her face toward me a fraction and whispered out the side of her mouth, "That bastard knocked me out for a night."

I couldn't suppress a grin. "Yeah, us, too."

"Fucker."

"You like him."

"Bitch."

"Love you too, Honey." I made air kisses at her and the whole room of men stopped to look at us. I got the bird from Jen and laughed.

She tried to retain her pissed off look, but lost the battle and dissolved in a fit of laughter, wrapping an arm around my neck and hugging me, placing a kiss on my cheek. "Thanks, Steph. I needed that."

"I'm your go-to girl." We grinned at each other, completely at ease with our friendship and affection. We turned to face the men, who still watched us with interest.

Then Joe made the mistake of saying we could continue where we left off. I quickly retorted that my husband might not like to share me when said husband replied that he wouldn't object. Men!

Joe being Joe, of course, said, "Well... you've certainly got our attention. Care to continue? We're willing to watch, believe me."

I saw Jensen immediately stiffen and her cheeks flush. Sending my eyes heavenward, I groaned and then dropped my head into my hands dramatically. "You stupid, stupid man."

Jensen had her own version of rhino mode. I called it her raging hippo mode because it went about five levels past my rhino mode in less than two seconds where stupid men were concerned. An evening watching a National Geographic Channel special on hippos and their violence could adequately explain my terminology for her.

I could see her gearing up and clamped a hand onto her forearm when she started to rise off the couch. "Jen, he's new at this, he doesn't get it yet."

She turned to face me, her angry eyes relaxing at the sincerity of mine. She relented on a sigh, "Yeah, okay."

I smiled in encouragement and gave her a gentle squeeze before releasing her. "He may not be the brightest crayon in the box at the moment…"

"Hey!" Joe's indignant voice broke in.

She ignored him and gave me a half smile and lazily flopped back onto the couch. "I know it wasn't malicious, it just…"

"I know."

The conversation having ended, I looked up at the men to see confusion on their faces. I waved them off and changed the subject. Jensen's business was her own and not mine to tell. "So where are we? Anyone have ideas?"

"Besides storming in there and going on a killing rampage, you mean?" Tank provided. At my nod, he shrugged. "It's all so delicate because of…Jaci." My son's name came out as a whisper and I felt the remorse rolling off him.

I got up and quickly crossed the room, launching myself into his arms. He clung to me for what seemed like hours, whispering how sorry he was and vowing to make it right. My responses were to assure him that he had done nothing wrong and that all I wanted was him by my side fighting with me.

I saw barely contained tears in his eyes when he set me down and pulled back. "Thanks, Steph. Thank you for still trusting me. It means the world to me."

Carlos came over and clapped a hand onto Tank's shoulder. "No one blames you for what happened. I'm so grateful that you were there for Stephanie and saved her from that landing yesterday. You've always been there for us, no matter the outcome."

Tank nodded, meeting Carlos' eyes and accepting his answer.

Batiste stood then and moved to the center of the room, facing everyone. "Okay, this is what we have so far. Joe and I have determined that Stephanie is the real target. Jaci is a consolation prize."

No one moved at his announcement. I felt as if we were all waiting for him to shout, "Gotcha!" But he never did.

"How sure are you?" Carlos' voice was soft and his eyes were troubled.

"Solid."

"What aren't you telling us?" Carlos narrowed his eyes and pushed himself up from the chair, crossing his arms over his chest. His bulging biceps and muscular forearms twitched with his restraint. My mouth went dry at the thought of what those arms could do to me when they were wrapped around my body.

"Drognan is the patriarch of the Mériot family. Truro and Kelvina were his sons. Alain is one of many grandsons." If I hadn't been so angry at the moment, I would have appreciated the sadness in his eyes at the revelation. As it was, I was feeling betrayed and angry.

"How could you keep this from us?" My entire body trembled with anger, I wasn't sure if my legs would hold me when I rose off the couch and stood in front of Batiste, but there was no way I would allow his omission to pass without answers.

"I first suspected it when Drognan appeared in Japan. It was too much of a coincidence, but I needed proof. I got it from Alain. I got a lot from Alain. I also know the exact coordinates of Drognan's home, as well." Now all of us were staring at Batiste.

"Shit." Joe said and started to pace, his arms moved on their own freewill in standard Italian fashion. "You didn't tell me _that_ last night! Why were we sitting around here doing nothing?"

"Because you decided to put our whole party to sleep last night."

Joe immediately stopped moving, a look of horror on his face. "I…damn."

"Relax, Morelli. It was a good idea. They would have been useless as tired as they were." Carlos opened his mouth to refute the claim, but Batiste silenced him with a look. "Even Batman needs to sleep."

********** ********** **********

_Joe's POV_

We approached the house on all sides. Ranger and Stephanie at the back to the south, Tank to the east, Batiste to the west and Jensen and I at the front to the north. We knew they were all inside, but it was too easy. It felt like a trap.

I opened up my silent comms with Batiste to get his feeling. _What do you think?_

_Trap. I don't see that we have any choice but to 'fall' for it. You should take Stephanie and get her as far away from here as possible._

I thought about that for a minute. She wouldn't like it at all, but it was really the best solution. _You don't need me?_

_I can handle this._

_What if Drognan shows up?_ Okay, so part of me wanted in on the action.

_I can handle him, but I won't be able to harm him. We need you for that. I'll at least be able to get them out. Take Steph and go, now._

This wasn't going to go over well. _Ranger_. I waited for one heartbeat to echo through my chest before I turned my concentration in Ranger's direction_._

_What is it, Morelli?_

_I need to get Steph out of here. We're sure this is a trap._

_Understood. She won't be happy, hope you can deal with her wrath. _I could hear the smirk in his tone. The bastard was smirking at me through our heads.

I decided to give him a little dig of my own_. I think I can remember how to calm her anger. _Ha! Think that one over, Batman!

Taking a deep breath, I zipped to where Stephanie and Jensen stood. "Steph."

She turned to look at me and narrowed her eyes at me. "You're not thinking about taking me away from here, are you?"

"No." I wasn't lying. I wasn't thinking about it. I was doing it.

Jensen turned to look at me and smirked. "Liar."

"I'm not lying. I'm not thinking about taking her away from here." They both looked at me and I turned to Stephanie. "Steph…I'm not thinking about it. I'm going to take you away from here. I'm sorry, but you really don't have a choice." Before she could protest, I willed us back to the cabin and blocked her ability to leave, even to the extent that she couldn't open the door and just walk out.

She glared at me and turned her back on me while trying to pop herself to Ranger. After a few fails, she turned to me, her eyes blazing mad. "Cut it the fuck out!"

"Sorry, Steph. You have to stay here."

She stomped in the direction of the front door, a stream of curses trailing behind her. No matter how hard she beat on the door, it remained closed. I winced when she picked up a dining chair and carried it into the living room and tried to throw it through the picture window. It merely bounced off the glass and landed on the floor with a clutter, one of the legs breaking off in the process. She let out a carnal scream and came at me, fists of fury flying at me.

I was really glad in that moment that I was immortal because I'd seen Stephanie fight and she was more than capable of doing some damage, make that major damage. I simply grabbed her wrists and held her steady in front of me until she lost steam and her anger and fear melted into tears. Her head fell forward and rested on my chest. "Did Carlos put you up to this? Did he do this to me again?"

"It depends on how you look at it, Steph. Didn't he talk to you about staying with me so I could keep you out of trouble?"

Her sniffles began to dry up and then she nodded her head.

"And didn't you agree to stay with me?"

Another nod.

"Okay, then. I take that to mean you'll listen to me when I say we need to leave." I started to release her so that I could set about brewing a pot of coffee when I stopped, shook my head and pulled her back into a hug. "Why do I always do things the hard way?" I looked at the coffee table in front of her and a mug of steaming hot coffee, just the way she liked it, appeared in front of her.

She grabbed the mug and blew on it before taking a tentative sip and collapsed onto the nearest chair. She leaned her head back, enjoying the flavor and muttered, "At least the service here is good."

I conjured up a beer for myself, figuring that it wouldn't affect me if I didn't want it to. And I didn't want it to. I was seeing the benefits of immortality; enjoying my favorite things without consequences being one of them. I sat on the couch and sipped my beer, enjoying our companionable silence when Jensen appeared in the middle of the room.

"Hey," she said and sat in the other armchair. She cocked her head to the side and looked down at the broken chair. "What happened?"

I worked to keep the smile off my face. "Steph got a little angry."

Jensen cocked her eyebrow at me. "Can't you fix it?"

"I wasn't in the mood."

"What are you in the mood for?"

"Don't go there!" Stephanie said, standing. "I'm going to lie down. Let me know if you need me." She scurried out of the room before we could reply.

I stood up and ambled over to Jensen. Smiling, I tugged her to her feet and pulled her gently into my arms. "How about," I kissed the tip of her nose, "a chance to prove," and then kissed her eyelids, "what kind of a guy I really am?" I ended with a soft, sweet kiss on her lips.


	15. Chapter 15

_Disclaimer: Standard – JE's stuff belongs to her, I'm just playing with it._

_A/N: Thanks to you all for reading. This is a short chapter. Lots of action coming up and I want to break it up so things can when I get it going._

_Major hugs to my girls M&M for pushing and encouraging me…and keeping me on task J_

********** ********** **********

_Joe's POV_

"Get to know what kind of guy you are?" Jensen asked.

I smiled. "Yeah, you know. Get to know each other better…and in a way other than sexually?"

She stared at me for several minutes, not speaking. I waited patiently while she worked everything out in her head, but I released a breath I hadn't known I was holding when she nodded slowly and acquiesced. "Okay, I can do talking, Superman."

"Talking it is. " I sat on the floor in front of the armchair directly across from the fireplace and spread my legs, leaned against the chair and pointed to the floor between my thighs, indicating that she should sit there.

It took her about thirty seconds to decide to trust me and then she was sitting between my legs, her saucy little ass pressed against an area of my body I was trying desperately to ignore, her back pressed to my chest, and my arms around her waist. I breathed in the heady scent of spice and musk in her hair and closed my eyes, waiting.

A few moments ticked by and I felt her shoulders give slightly when she released her pent up breath and asked, "Okay, what do you want to know?"

"Anything?"

"I'm done fighting your persistence for right now. Ask before I change my mind." There was always an edge to her. A little rough, a little jaded. It was as if she expected me to disappoint her and I couldn't blame her. Hell, half the time _I_ expected me to disappoint her! I was working hard not to screw things up with her. In the short time I'd known her, I'd come to realize that I really wanted to be around her after this madness was over.

"Okay. I guess that's easy." I felt her hands rest on top of mine, accepting the warmth of my embrace around her, but I sensed her inner tension and hoped I wasn't making a mistake. "Why are you afraid of me?"

Her muscles bunched up immediately and I felt, rather than heard, her draw a quick breath. I forbade myself to read her mind and held myself firm to my resolve, but the temptation was so great, it was practically wearing me out. I opened my mouth to retract the question when she sighed and said, "There are lots of reasons. I'll tell you the biggest."

I knew then that she was going to tell me something I wasn't ready to hear. "Jensen, if you don't want…"

She held up a hand to silence me. "A few years ago, shortly after I found out that I was unmentionable, I got my training from a man named Quist Turner. He specializes in mind control. He can literally think something into your mind and you have to do it. He blocks the mind's ability to reason, so you literally just become like an obedient animal."

She took a deep breath and I pressed a kiss to her hair. "I didn't go to IAPSA. I didn't know about them, so my training wasn't done with the intention of being safe. There were no healers. I was raped and beaten by his goons often. He commanded them to do it." Her face grew stony and the emotion left her as she continued. "One night, I was hurt so bad that they were forced to bring in a healer or I would have…bled to death. The beating was so severe I couldn't–"

She broke off, breathing in and out through her nose. I leaned to the side and looked down at her face and noticed her eyes glazing over as she forced herself to relive that night and face the demons that haunted her. I rubbed my hands up and down her arms, kissed her hair and murmured words of safety and protection to her. I didn't know how to help her, other than to just hold her and offer my support. "Jensen, you don't have to go on if you don't want to."

"I'm going to go on. It's time to talk about it." Her voice was emotionless and cold. "The beating was so severe I couldn't move. I was broken. And back then, I was naïve enough to believe that it was a normal training procedure. I didn't have anything else to gauge it on, so I didn't question it. But," her voice became hard and bitter, "later on, after the healer did his job and left, I heard all of the men laughing about how they were going to destroy me little by little. They thought it was a joke that women could be unmentionable." Her body grew rigid and she sat up, away from me. "The last thing I heard before I ran out of there was their argument on who got to rape me and treat me like the stupid bitch that I was."

In that moment, I would have gladly committed murder. If they had walked into the room right then, I would have slain them without a backward glance, so strong was the rage that had built up inside me when she spoke. I tightened my grip around her waist and leaned my forehead against the center of her back between her shoulder blades, she had scooted that far away from me. "Jensen, I wouldn't ever think that about you. I would certainly never say that to you and I would _never_ treat you that way. I give you my word." I hoped like hell the brutal images flying through my head of what I would do to the fuckers if I ever met them didn't carried over into my pledge to her.

"Anyway, I haven't truly been able to trust a man since. Batiste and Ranger are the exceptions, but I haven't allowed them to be alone with me. I'd just as soon avoid men, if possible. Call me crazy, but it's just easier that way. I've read enough male minds to know how they think." She turned slightly to look at me. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but she didn't speak.

"What?"

"Except, with you I can't."

That one sentence made my heart thud in my chest almost painfully. "You can't what? Trust me?"

"Avoid you. I can't avoid you, Superman. I want to," she licked her lips, "but when it comes down to it, I want you. And to have you, I have to trust you." She leaned closer, staring into my eyes with her beautiful, expressive eyes. "Because I can't stop wanting you."

She pressed her lips to mine, kissing me almost timidly. I could sense her worry, her wonder over whether or not I would still accept her. I reassured her with my response because the second her lips touched mine, I was engulfed in her flames. My body was burning up and the need to be buried inside her was so strong, I groaned and immediately shoved my hands into her hair to hold her head steady while I explored the recesses of her mouth with my tongue, tasting and memorizing her.

She moaned against my mouth and the fire intensified within. The only way to douse it would be to make love to her for hours on end…and it was the one thing we didn't have time to do. With every last drop of self-control I possessed, I broke the kiss, grazing my lips along her jaw and then leaning forward to rest my forehead on her shoulder. "Fiammetta," I said on a puff of air, "you set me on fire from the inside out. I want nothing more than to get you naked right now, but we have a problem."

She was still trying to catch her breath, but her eyes settled on mine in understanding. "He's coming."

I nodded. "He is."

"The others?"

"Still fighting the assassins."

She nodded. "I'll get Stephanie."

"No time." I willed Stephanie into the room. She arrived with a wide-eyed expression and a couple of blinks.

"A little warning would have been nice, Joe! What if I was–"

"Not now, Stephanie!" I said more harshly than I intended. He was in the room, I could feel it. I really didn't have a desire to be alone with two wounded women I couldn't help because I was in the middle of a fight.

I looked at them and did the only thing I could think to do, I sealed them in a protective shield. It always seemed to work in the movies, so I decided 'what the hell?' and gave it a go.

"Mr. Morelli, you are too clever for words, my boy." Drognan appeared in the room beside the picture window. _Of course he could come into the house even though I made it impenetrable._ I cast a nervous glance at the sphere I'd conjured up around the two women and decided that I would have to be stronger in my will if I was going to keep the thing intact.

Drognan held his hand up toward the sphere and gave it a look of great concentration. Unsure of what he was trying to accomplish, I watched and kept my mind and body alert in case the perimeter was breached. He smiled a sick, twisted smile and fixed me with his gaze. "Batiste has trained you well." I didn't know what the fuck he was talking about. As far as I knew, I hadn't received any training, then again, I'm sure Batiste had ways of passing knowledge that most people couldn't imagine.

I didn't trust him even the one damn bit, but curiosity was burning in my gut. He was up to something. I finally reached the point where a little omniscience would have been helpful. What good was it being immortal if I couldn't have super cosmic powers?

I made a decision to charge him when he produced Jaci in his hands. I heard Stephanie shriek and I stood frozen in place. I was less than three feet away from that little tyke and I couldn't get close enough to get him. Just about the time that thought struck my head, I also realized that I didn't have to be anywhere near him to grab him. Before even I realized what I was doing, I popped him out of Drognan's hands and into his mother's arms.

With a roar, Drognan slammed himself into the shield and bounced back. He threw a punch at it, which stopped on the outer edge and refused to go further. He turned his gaze to me and seethed, "I'll return soon, and your shield will be worthless when I do!"

Before I could respond, he had disappeared. In a fog of confusion, I looked around the room and then over at the two women. I expected to see Stephanie happy and cooing at the tiny baby. Instead, I found her on the floor clutching her son to her chest, tears streaming down her face.

I removed the shield and rushed over to her. "Steph! What is it?"

Tears streamed down her face and she looked up at me, her gaze forlorn and hopeless. "Jaci…"

_Shit!_ I thought he had left too easy.


	16. Chapter 16

_Disclaimer: Standard – JE's stuff belongs to her, I'm just playing with it._

_A/N: We're on the final stretch here, just a few more chapters! Thanks for sticking with me. This has been a difficult one for me, but I am going to finish and not leave you all hanging! As ALWAYS, thanks to my two Babes, M&M. :)_

********** ********** **********

_Stephanie's POV_

For ten seconds, I had been the happiest mother in the world. My child was back in my arms. He'd been gone for so long I had almost forgotten his baby scent and baby noises. I pulled him back to look into his sweet little face, and saw the face frozen and unmoving in front of me. The plastic features weren't those of my son, but those created by a manufacturer. The eyes were permanently closed and the mouth was formed into a little baby smile.

"No!" I wailed. "No, no, no!"

Jen turned to me, a look of concern on her face. I saw her eyes flick toward the doll in my arms and then widen in recognition. "He came here with a doll."

"Yeah." I sank to my knees, my sadness overcoming me. "He's playing with us. Testing Joe."

I didn't even notice that Drognan was gone or that my cheeks were wet with tears until Joe rushed over and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Steph! What is it?" I looked up at him. He had real fear on his face. "Jaci..." I looked down at the lifeless doll in my arms and hugged it anyway. "It's not Jaci! He substituted my son with a doll!"

I saw relief pass over his face. "Christ, Steph! I thought...I thought that..."

I placed a hand on his arm. "I know, sorry." I got up from the floor and walked over to the couch, laying the doll down on the cushion. It felt wrong, somehow, just putting the doll down. _This is it, Stephanie! You've completely lost it. Now you're worrying about abandoning a doll?_

"Steph," Joe began, coming over to put a reassuring hand on my shoulder, "don't be so hard on yourself. You're missing your baby. You thought that doll was your son for a few seconds, so of course you're going to feel maternal toward it."

"Stop reading my mind, Joe."

"I didn't. You said that out loud." His tone was _almost_ amused.

"Great. Now I'm reverting back to my old habits. Where did kick ass Stephanie go?" I muttered.

Jen slipped an arm around my waist, pressing me close to her. I'd never been an affectionate person, but I'd found that this was Jen's way of saying all the things that couldn't be spoken. Because I cared about her, I'd learned to put aside my discomfort with affection and let her be herself with me. The biggest surprise was how much this allowance had deepened our friendship into a trusting and intimate relationship.

"She's just hurting. We always slip into our childhood a little when we have too many emotions to process. This is your stress response, Steph. Don't get too hung up on it." She gave me a squeeze and fixed Joe with her gaze. "We need to get the others, help them. That sonofabitch is going to pay for this."

I saw Joe's gaze soften on her and realized that he cared a lot more for her than I had realized. I saw an affection shining in him that he'd never shown for me and I couldn't have been more pleased.

"Fiammetta, your fiery temper is coming up." I saw the slight rise of color in her cheeks at the nickname. I stared at her and a vision forced its way into my mind. Jensen suspended in the air, her body broken and dying, the spirit within her in agony and trapped in suffering. I sucked in a breath and sank to the floor from the shock of the experience. I'd looked in the future on purpose hundreds of times, but this was different. I wasn't sure where it had come from.

"Stephanie!" Joe lifted me and set me on the couch, bending down to look into my eyes.

"I'm fine...physically. I need to see Batiste." I was shivering, but not cold. I was truly shaken at that moment. I looked at Jensen again, but the vision was gone.

"You saw something." It wasn't a question, she knew that I wouldn't have had that response without some knowledge.

"Yes, but I didn't call on it. I had a vision, it just popped into my head."

Joe looked incredibly troubled and sat in the chair closest to the couch and dropped his head to pinch the bridge of his nose between this thumb and forefinger. I stared at him, waiting for him to tell me what was wrong. It didn't take long. If there was one thing I could count on with Joe since I've discovered I'm unmentionable is that if he had information to share with me that concerned me, he would tell me, even if it was painful. This was a vast improvement over how he was when we had been together.

He raised his head and looked straight into my eyes. "Batiste and I have determined why Drognan is after you."

"What's the reason?" My mouth went dry and my heart almost stopped beating.

"Because you have the greatest precognition powers that ever were, apparently."

"I don't understand. I can see into the future, but only so much. It's not _that_ useful..."

"Your powers are more impressive than you know. It seems you haven't reached your full potential, yet. Your powers are strong enough to allow you to see into the future to a level that no one has ever possessed and he wants that power for himself." Joe stood and started pacing. It was his way to let out agitation and to think. "All along, he's been trying to possess you. There's something there, Stephanie, something that would allow him to have complete control of your soul, all of your powers. I can feel it."

"I thought that was what he did anyway?" I was confused.

"He can take a *part* of it, the evil parts of you he can absorb. You know, the darkness that we all try to hide deep down inside?" He stopped pacing and shoved his hands into his pockets, rocking back onto his heels. "I just know that it's important to him to get you to his house, otherwise he never would have taken Jaci there."

"Okay..." I said, my thoughts whirling through my mind. It made sense. "So, the doll was a trick to get me angry enough to storm after him. It also explains why he didn't try to do anything to me when he was here."

He nodded. "Right. So, you're going to stay with me and you're not going to run off alone. I can keep you safe if you're in my sight."

"You're taking me?"

"I can't leave you alone. Besides, if I don't, you'll just sneak out and come anyway. I'd rather have you where I can put you in a bubble." He smiled.

"I'm afraid to go. What if he uses Jaci against me?" From the second Joe told me I was the target, this was my most pressing concern.

"He will, but we won't let him." He stood up and looked at us both. "Ready?"

"Where to first?" Jen asked.

"We need our team back. And I think Stephanie and Batiste need to talk. He hasn't told me everything. I only hope he can tell Stephanie what she needs to know." Jensen and I both nodded at his statement.

He fixed us with a stare and a second later we were outside Drognan's home in the middle of a violent unmentionable battle.

Carlos was across the lawn from where we stood, fiercely fighting three men and a woman who were attacking him. Tank was flanking him, fighting two big goons of his own. The grounds were flooded with dozens of people who had come to join in the attack against us.

I was so flabbergasted at the amount of people who were here to bring us down, that I didn't notice the large man running full force at me. At the last second, I turned my head and saw him, letting out a strange gurgling noise in response. I got into a defensive pose to reduce the impact, but he didn't hit me.

I looked up and saw that Joe had downed him. His hand was still out and he stared at the man lying motionless on the ground with a blank expression on his face. Joe looked horrified.

"Joe?"

"I just killed him."

"You've had to kill before."

"Not like this!" He was angry with himself. "These people are defenseless against me!"

"Joe," I said in a calming voice, "you were in the Navy. You're a cop. Even if you feel you have an unfair advantage we're kind of outnumbered here. That asshole has my baby. These people are here to kill your friends. Are you really going to let guilt mess with your mind now?

He looked at me. "I know you're right and I'll be fine. It's just the first time I have ever killed someone with a thought before and it's not the greatest feeling. I'm really going to have to be careful how I think toward others."

I nodded my understanding, but didn't have time to speak. A horde of assassins rushed toward us and we all went into fight mode. Joe was freezing anyone who came near us and Jensen and I were attacking those he hadn't gotten to, yet.

It didn't take long before Jensen let her own unique unmentionable ability out. She stood in front of a particularly violent man who was dressed in a black business suit and reminded me of a taller, darker 'Smith' from the movie _The Matrix_. He had gotten a few hits on her and she got angry and let her rage out. She got into what I call her 'angry' stance; her feet were planted shoulder width apart, arms down at her sides and fists clenched. When he came at her again, flames erupted around her, engulfing her.

Morelli freaked out and yelled for her, "Jensen!"

I turned to him and held a hand up. "Relax! That's just her, Joe!"

He gave me a confused look and I pointed to her, indicating that he should watch. The man had faltered, seeing the flames, but then came at her again.

********** ********** **********

_Joe's POV_

I watched, dumbfounded, as Jensen reached out and grabbed the man's arm. The fire from her body coiled its way up his arm, igniting his flesh and burning through his clothing. With a loud yell, he yanked away from her and beat at the flames licking their way up and now across his torso. Soon he was in a blind panic, running and screaming while weaving in and out of the people in his path. By the time he had bypassed the fighting scene, his whole body was aflame and he fell to his knees and then to the ground.

I was completely flummoxed. I turned my head to look at Jensen and noticed the fire was gone from her body, but flames still danced in her eyes. She was in bitch mode and ready for the next challenger.

I started to shake my head and laugh when I saw Drognan appear next to her. Instantly, my guard was up. I grabbed Stephanie's arm and dragged her behind me and approached Jensen. She noticed Drognan just as I reached her side and she turned to face him.

I put my hand on her shoulder in silent request for her to move behind me, but she stood her ground. Just then, Drognan raised a hand toward me. I wasn't sure what his plan was, but I brought my hand up to counter his attack. It was at that moment, that I decided he had to die. I had no choice.

I thought to destroy him and I raised my hands toward him, throwing a blast at him from my mind, but just as I let it go, he did the same to me. Jensen, seeing his intention, shouted, "No!" She jumped between us and caught my blast in her back and Drognan's in her front. She collapsed to the ground, limp, and lifeless. I watched as her soul separated from her body and a small box made of crystals appeared and hovered close to her soul's foggy mist. I screamed in pain when her soul was sucked inside the box. Her screams echoed in my head when my eyes watched the flashes of fiery colors bouncing around inside.

"JENSEN!!" All activity around me slowed and my vision narrowed until all I saw was Drognan. He stood in front of me and there was only one thought on my mind - revenge.

With a yell prompted by the panic I was feeling, I launched myself at him, laying my hands across his face, willing his spirit to its end. I heard him scream and, when I felt his force collide with mine, I lost every ounce of feeling I'd ever had. I felt as if I had become vapor myself. I remembered Batiste's words and knew that Drognan's spirit couldn't stand against mine. I poured out punishment to him that originated from the purity of my love for Jensen and the deep sense of justice that always drove my actions. His spirit, fueled by anger and hatred, couldn't stand against the true motives in mine.

I sensed his spirit dissipating rapidly. Bit by bit, I felt him slipping away until his spirit was a mere whisper within. When I sensed that he was almost gone, I looked up and around at the world I had momentarily forgotten. The others were still fighting and Stephanie was crouched near Jensen, tears streaming down her face, her body shaking with her sobs.

Knowing we had to act quickly, I called to her, "Stephanie!"

She snapped her head up to look at me.

"I'll help her in a minute. Please, get Diesel and Katrine. She has to be here when his spirit leaves." I saw her glance at Jensen, hesitant to leave. "Stephanie, you can't do anything to help her right now and I won't be able to help until I take care of Drognan…and Katrine is a part of that."

"Okay," she said nodded and disappeared.

I knew that Stephanie would return quickly and I held Drognan steady, sensing that his spirit was trying to fight. I held him imprisoned with my mind, knowing that I owed Jensen thanks for making me stop thinking for once and just _doing_. I would have calculated my moves too much if I'd been thinking clearly. As it was, I gained a new appreciation for Stephanie always following her 'Spidey sense'. A lot could be said for following your gut instincts. I could only hope that I could finish him off before it was too late for Jensen.

I turned to look at Jensen's body and searched through it with my mind, noting that it still had a weak pulse. I healed any internal and external wounds I found that she sustained from the blast and kept a part of my mind on her flesh to ensure it stayed healthy until she could return to it. Feeling secure that I had bought some time for her, I turned back to Drognan and waited.

Stephanie and Diesel, with Katrine in his arms, returned at that second. I looked at Diesel. "Lay her next to him."

With a look that asked 'are you crazy?' he hesitated before he laid her down on the grass next to Drognan. With a nod in his direction, I focused my attention on Drognan and began to snuff out his spirit like a flame. I could feel it, sense it. He was talking to me.

_Morelli, you don't really want to do this. Once you turn into a killer, you can't go back. You'll be just like me._

_Nice try, Drognan, but we both know that I'm better than you in every way or I wouldn't be defeating you right now. You can't stand against me._

_Pride goes before a fall, Morelli. Just think! We could do so much if we worked together. We could run the world. Think about it. We'd have all the power…_

_At what cost? I can't live my life thinking only of myself. Frankly, if that's the way you want to live, then you deserve to die. I won't feel guilty._

_Morelli! Don't be a fool! Think of what all we could be!_

_How about if I think of all I can feel? You can just go straight to hell._

_Morelli! Morelli! MORELLI!_

He was gone. I watched as the thin wisp of his spent life force began to stream out through his nostrils. A diffused golden light came out along with it, leaving a bright 'residue' behind as it traveled. Like a gently swaying song, it slipped and stretched through the air, gliding toward Katrine. Slowly, it swirled and dipped and I suddenly remembered what I was forgetting. I grabbed my Swiss army knife from my back pocket and opened it. I placed the tip of the blade to her chest and cut an opening above the neckline of her shirt.

"What are you doing?!" Diesel yelled.

"Just wait!" I commanded.

The golden stream inched closer to the blood and wove its way down until it was hovering just over the cut. It plunged toward her just once, as if it was taking a taste, and then dove into the thin cut, scrunching and slithering until it was inside out of view. Once it had vanished completely, I passed my finger over the cut and healed it.

"Now what?" Diesel asked.

"Now we wait. Be with your wife. I need to work on getting Jensen back." I pushed myself up from the ground and walked over to where Jensen's body lay on the ground and Stephanie came up beside me and kneeled once again.

"The vision," she began on a broken sob. "This is what I saw. She's being tormented, Joe." The last sentence came out on a desperate whisper and I gripped her shoulder with my hand, hoping I could help Jensen quickly. I couldn't stand the thought of her suffering anymore than she had to.

I placed my hands on her body, one between her collarbones and the other on her left thigh. Just as I was starting to look through her body to check it for injuries, Batiste walked up. "Morelli, wait." He had an intense look in his eye and I saw him studying the cube.

"What is it?"

He locked eyes with me. "Well, if my calculations are correct…it is the end of your immortality."


	17. Chapter 17

_Disclaimer: Standard – JE's stuff belongs to her, I'm just playing with it._

_A/N: Very short chapter here. I know! I had to have good stopping points without revealing too much. Thanks for reading. We're getting closer!_

********** ********** **********

_Stephanie's POV_

"My immortality?" I heard Joe ask, but I couldn't get involved. Drognan was gone and my baby was nowhere to be found. I looked around and saw Javi and Aric fighting together against a small mob of assassins. Carlos and Tank were up against another small mob. I didn't see Lynck, but Oliver was staying out of harm's way, keeping close, and healing our people when needed.

Batiste was immobilizing the enemy as quick as possible, but the numbers of standing enemies far outweighed those lying motionless on the ground. Their numbers were dwindling due to our unified powers and, since Drognan had been taken out, I felt secure to begin my search for Jaci.

Diesel was parked on the ground beside Katrine, who was now sitting up and looking around dazedly. Drognan's body was shriveling up and I assumed it would be gone by the time I returned. Right now I needed to head inside to rescue my baby.

I raced up the steps to the front door and charged inside without hesitation. The foyer was large and spacious. There were large rooms off to my right and my left. A staircase lead up to an open landing that encased the right-hand wall. There was a door at the back of the foyer on the left which I gathered to be the kitchen by the rumble in my stomach.

I decided that the upstairs would be my best choice and started my ascent. I poured all my special energies into my surroundings and listened and watched the flashes of the future that crowded my senses. Visions of Jensen's accident flitted in and out of my thoughts and I forced myself to push them aside; they would have to wait until the real Jaci was safe in my arms and away from harm.

When I reached the landing, the hallway divided into two directions. I wasn't sure which way to go, but then I heard Jaci's cry coming from the right. I was grateful that one decision had been removed from my plate and turned to follow the sound of his cries.

Passing the second door on the right, I heard him cry again and I opened the door and stepped inside.

He was in a crib across the room and I would have rushed to him, but the sight of a man I'd never seen before standing between us with a small white, glowing orb of some kind stopped me dead in my tracks. He was younger than Drognan and Truro had been, but he held the family resemblance with dark hair and dark eyes. He was tall, slim, and clean cut.

"Good evening, Mrs. Manoso. I'm so happy you decided to join us. I was afraid that you wouldn't make your way up here." His smile would have been classified as pleasant if it weren't for the lack of expression in his eyes.

I stared at the orb. Strong vibes were coming from it and my Spidey senses went into high alert. Unsure of how to handle the situation, visions of me doing a fast spin kick and slamming the orb into the man's chest played through my mind's eye. When it hit him, he started to convulse and scream. His whole body turned white and I realized that it had become alabaster. _Omigod!_

"You have me at a disadvantage. You seem to know a lot about me, but I don't know who you are." I said, stalling for time.

"My name is Alexandre Mériot. I am the only living Mériot left, thanks to your husband and Batiste." He began to pace a short distance across the room. "My grandfather had a dream. He dreamed of enhancing his powers as an immortal to include seeing into the future. He envisioned being able to land the most powerful blows before his foes did, so to speak."

I mentally rolled my eyes, knowing how pompous Drognan had been. It didn't surprise me that Drognan would try and use my powers for delusions of grandeur, provided he had the chance to acquire them. The real mystery was what _this_ bastard would try to do with them. He obviously had the same stupid idea that he would continue on with granddad's big plan.

I kept my eyes focused on him and watched his every movement while I allowed my mind's eye to watch the future. I saw no movement at all for more than the next ten minutes in the future which lead me to believe that Alexandre was immortal.

"That's a good assumption, my dear. Now, I'll bet you're wondering what this little white ball is for?" He tossed the orb up and let it fall back into his hand, just as one might do with a baseball. I nodded once, letting him know he had my attention. "Good. It is called the Orb of Aspiration and it holds the key to any wish you could ever have. If you want to be filthy rich or possess beauty beyond compare, this orb is your best friend. The results are permanent."

He took a few steps closer to me. "If you want to steal someone's powers and have them for your own, it is a gold mine. And the effects are still permanent." He held it up between his thumb and forefinger in front of my face. "Do you want to see how it works?"

I was thinking he would throw it at me, but I couldn't be sure. My vision gave me a small glimpse of the scenario, but not enough to know how accurate my assumption was. "Not particularly."

He threw his head back and laughed. "Touching, but you see you don't really have a choice." With a grin, he tossed the orb into the air and it hovered, moving around the room until it settled over my head. I felt a warm light cascade down over me and then I was unable to move. I felt a sharp, hot heat rushing to the center of my chest, almost like a syringe had been jabbed into it and my insides were oozing out. I looked down and saw that a golden, flowing mist swirled from my chest at the exact point where the heat was the hottest, just like it had swirled from Drognan's**.** It floated up toward the orb and was sucked inside, as if the little glowing ball was a vacuum of some sort.

Panic set in. I was here with my child, but I couldn't do a thing to help him or myself. No one knew I was here and this immortal was going to take my unique ability and use it to destroy all the good that existed.

I stood immobile in my prison, feeling foolish and apologetic.

********** ********** **********

_Joe's POV_

"_My_ immortality?" I looked up at the box and felt helpless, my eyes following the colorful swirls of the fiery soul inside it. "So, I can't just bring her back to her body, then?"

"This is an Entrapment Cube. They only form when two opposing forces directly hit a target at the same time. Needless to say, it is a rare occurrence."

"How do we get her out?"

"Both parties must give up their immortality. It acts as a key to unlocking the cube. Since Drognan has been destroyed, his has already attached itself to the side that came from his powers." Batiste was pointing to the cube. I hadn't even noticed that the colors were constant on one side. Where it had once been completely clear, one half was a transparent red color.

He and I looked at each other, locking eyes for a beat. "So, all I have to do is just give up my immortality and it will unlock her?"

"Yes."

"Won't that mean that I am gone forever?"

"No. Immortality is something you can choose to keep. There are many who have released their mantles and lived normal human lives. It doesn't mean that you have a soul. You're still immortal in that sense. You can't be brought back once your spirit is removed from your body because it will disintegrate as Drognan's did." He gave me a serious look. "It just means that you give up your abilities, your powers. You just become an ordinary guy until your body dies of old age."

"Okay, how do I do it?" I asked, sad that I had to give up something I'd recently found to be so useful, but I loved Jensen and I would do it for her sake. _Wait! I love her?_

Batiste smiled. "I didn't doubt for a minute that you love her, which is why I said that cube is the end of your immortality." I gave him a sad smile and looked up at the cube. "It's a tough decision to make." Batiste rested his hands on my shoulders with his words.

I shook my head. "No. You're wrong. It's an easy decision to make, but it's a tough decision to accept. I was sort of getting used to this, but I couldn't keep it knowing that I could have saved her and didn't." I looked at him expectantly and shoved my hands into my pockets, waiting.

"Okay, Morelli. It's going to be hard to see you go. You would have been a valuable asset to our side," Batiste gave me a wan smile and said, "but if this is what you need to do…"


	18. Chapter 18

_Disclaimer: Standard – JE's stuff belongs to her, I'm just playing with it._

_A/N: Two more chapters after this. Thanks for sticking this out with me! You guys are great. Thanks also to my betas, M&M, for catching my slip-ups!_

********** ********** **********

_Stephanie's POV_

My eyes drifted over to my son, who had started fussing again. He was clearly upset and I was desperate to comfort him. It angered me beyond belief that he wasn't getting comfort when he needed it. Not that I necessarily expected anyone in this family to be maternal toward my son, but he was just a baby and needed the reassurance!

With every ounce of concentration I had, I popped myself over to Jaci on the bed. The orb stayed with me, but at least I had my baby. With all the strength I could muster, I lifted him in my arms and settled into the wooden chair against the wall beside his crib. I would hold him until whatever came next happened.

Alexandre had an amused look on his face. "I would have handed him to you, you could have asked."

"I won't ask anything of you. I was perfectly capable of getting here on my own." I placed Jaci's head on my shoulder and patted his back, bowing under the level of fatigue that was growing within me. Jaci seemed unaffected by the orb. Though he was only a few days old, he looked up at stared at it.

"Is that bright, baby?" I asked him quietly, trying to keep my tears at bay. I leaned down and nuzzled his baby soft skin, enjoying the feel of having him in my arms again. Even if I died, I would be content to have held my son one last time.

I lowered him to the crook of my arm and trailed a finger lightly down his cheek. He was looking directly at the light, transfixed by its brightness. His skin had darkened a little since I'd last seen him. I knew it would grow darker as he aged and even though it wasn't that much darker, I was still shocked at how different he looked than he had a few days ago.

He started rooting around and I wasn't sure if I would be able to nurse or not, my milk hadn't been established, yet, when we were separated, but I wouldn't deny him or myself the bonding time. "Please turn around, I want to nurse him."

I was a little taken back when Alexandre politely turned around. I wasn't used to my captors being so polite, but figured he was just a bit different than all the others and was grateful. I really didn't want an audience turning something so basic into a perverted sexual thing.

The moment Jaci latched onto my breast, I felt something shift. Instead of the feeling of my powers pouring out, I felt the warmth in my chest heading back inward. I looked up at the orb and, sure enough, the golden mist was flowing backwards toward me. In shock, I looked down at Jaci and saw that he looked normal, suckling contentedly away at my breast, he was also glowing with the same light Joe'd had the day he found out he was immortal.

He placed a little hand up on the side of my breast, holding on as babies do when nursing, but to me it felt as if he were trying to tell me everything was okay. I had no idea what to think. It wasn't as if there was someone I could talk to about how intelligent immortal babies are, was there?

********** ********** **********

_Joe's POV_

"I think I can do this," I said to Batiste. He nodded and stepped back. I looked around. Jensen's body was lying on the ground beside me, still living, yet lifeless. Diesel and Katrine were standing off to the side, holding one another. Stephanie was…nowhere to be seen.

"Batiste, where's Stephanie?"

He looked around and, not seeing her, closed his eyes to seek her life force. After a few seconds, his eyes popped open. "She's in the house and something's going on."

"I sense something in there that is able to steal her powers. Someone needs to help her."

Batiste opened his mouth, but Diesel beat him to the punch. "Katrine and I will go. She's fine now and you need to finish this."

I looked at him and then at Katrine, who smiled and nodded her head. "We'll go."

I nodded to them and turned to Batiste. "Ready?" He asked.

"Ready," I said softly. I raised my hands up and had just about touched the cube when I heard a sharp, "Stop!" I turned my head toward the voice and felt my jaw drop. "Grandma Bella?"

"Yes, Joey."

"But how did you get here? Did someone bring you?" My mind suggested that the reason she was here was obvious, but I couldn't believe it.

She smiled and cocked her head to the side. "What, you think that it's not possible that I could be immortal?"

I heard Batiste suck in a breath and then he stepped out from behind me. "Bella…"

Her eyes grew large and I saw her hand tremble when she placed it to her lips. "Chris…"

"Whoa! Hold the phone! You two know each other?" I asked, incredulous.

"We…knew each other a long time ago." Grandma answered.

"It's good to see you again, Bellatina." Batiste's voice was quiet and full of emotion, something I had never expected from him, even though I had only known him a short while.

I saw tears fill Grandma's eyes and she said, "You, as well, Christophe. Can we talk afterward?"

Batiste nodded. "I know what you're here to do…and I approve."

Grandma nodded and turned to face me.

"But…"

"Joey, stop. We don't have time to discuss this." She pointed to the cube. "These only last so long, we can't waste any time."

"Okay, but this is something that I have to do on my own, Grandma." I put an arm around her and leaned down to kiss the top of her head in a loving gesture.

Grandma Bella fixed me with her loving stare. "Joey, your Grandma Bella has always looked out for you and I'm here to look out for you now."

"Grandma, I know that I could help a lot of people as an immortal, but you're not talking me out of this. I love her." My mind was set and she would know that I wouldn't falter under her wishes.

She smiled at me. "Of course you do or I wouldn't be here. You see, we have the same immortal gene structure. You came from me and I can take your place."

"What?"

"I can give up my immortality to save the woman you love and you get to keep yours. It is the best of both worlds." She smiled at me and patted my cheek.

"But…I feel like this is what I'm really _supposed_ to do!"

"Joey, maybe the willingness is all you had to display. I am here to take your place because it's right that you should remain immortal. There will be many things you will need to do with your abilities, Joey. Don't rid the world of a good thing." She smiled as she walked over to stand under the cube.

"What will happen to you if you do this?" I asked, placing a hand on her upper arm.

"Joey, I will grow old," she removed my hand and motioned for me to step backward, "and die one day. It is okay, I am ready to die when my time comes."

I made a move to grab her again, but felt Batiste's hand come down on my shoulder, restraining me. "Give your grandmother the chance to be the hero once. Please don't interfere; you don't know what it will mean to her."

I was stricken. I hadn't thought about Grandma's needs at all, but of course she had a past and probably regrets, as well. Put that way, there was no way I could deny her this one last chance to save someone: to save me.

A smile crossed her face and she lifted her hands up, touching the cube with her fingertips. She was barely able to reach it. She closed her eyes and said, "All my power for this soul. Take what's mine instead and let her go."

_She said it a lot more eloquently than I would have_. I watched as the golden light left Grandma's body and floated up to the cube. As soon as it touched the cube, it coated the clear side in transparent blue. When the 'transfer' was complete, Grandma lowered her hands and walked over to stand by Batiste, who picked up her small hand in his own and held it over his heart. I would have to get that story soon.

I focused my attention back to the cube and watched as it split open and then shattered, the blue and red shard of light splintered out into oblivion and then disintegrated into nothing. The churning mist of Jensen's soul separated from the torturous flashes of color and I saw it form back into the likeness of her.

Once again taking my knife, I bent down to kiss her forehead and then cut a line open in the flesh over her sternum as I had done with Katrine. I looked up at her spirit and picked up her body and walked over to the listless spirit. "Okay, Fiammetta. Come home."

I smiled at the familiar spinning and weaving and knew that I'd soon be kissing a very pissed off woman. I was looking forward to it.


	19. Chapter 19

_Disclaimer: Standard – JE's stuff belongs to her, I'm just playing with it._

_A/N: One final chapter to go! Thanks for sticking with me!_

********** ********** **********

_Stephanie's POV_

The longer Jaci and I were together, the more brilliant the light around him grew. Finally, it was so bright that I had to avert my eyes because it was too painful to look at him. Alexandre also noticed the strange glow and turned around to see where it was coming from. When he saw Jaci glowing, a quiet rage filled his face. He tried to school it, but I saw that he was angry and how much the sight of it had shaken him.

"That little bastard is immortal!" He reached over to grab Jaci from me, but the moment his hands came into contact with Jaci's light, he flinched and pulled back as if burned. "Let go of him, you stupid little bitch." He didn't yell, he didn't even allow himself to show his anger at that point. He said it as if he were telling me the deli was around the corner.

"Never!" I yelled and his face contorted at my resistance.

"Put him down or I will kill him." He tried again, his tone had gotten a step higher and his voice more strained.

"I don't think so. I don't believe you can touch him and you're trying to frighten me," I said smugly. "In fact, I think you're afraid of my son even though he's an infant."

In a fit of rage, he grabbed me by the hair, yanking me from the bed. I held Jaci tight and turned my shoulders so I wouldn't land on him. I knew Alexandre was trying to make me drop my child, but what he didn't count on was the determination of a mother. And he didn't know not to mess with a Plum.

If someone asked me to explain what I did next, I couldn't have answered them. I did something no mother in her right mind would have done, but my only explanation was that I felt Jaci wanted me to. There was no logic to it whatsoever, but I glared at him icily and said, "Fine. You want me to let go of him? Here! _You_ hold him!"

I pressed the baby into his arms so quickly that he wasn't able to pull back. The minute he touched Jaci, he screamed in pain and sank to his knees. He held my son, unable to let go of him and unable to harm him; yet, all the while, he was moaning pathetically and I realized that the only logical explanation was that Jaci was his opposite.

I didn't know how aware Jaci was of what was happening, but I was hoping that his infancy had something to do with the level of protective powers around him and that it didn't mean he was cognizant of what he was doing. Immortal or not, no mother wants her child to miss childhood and I didn't want his innocence to disappear before he even had a chance to live.

"Please!" Alexandre gasped out on a groan. "Take him! Please!"

His skin had the pallor of day-old ashes, cold and pale gray. I could see the veins in his flesh through the translucent skin and watched as his eyes hollowed out moment by moment. Soon he was panting and he fell to the floor with Jaci clutched to his chest like a teddy bear.

And my son? My brave little infant who, hopefully, had no idea what was going on? He was looking up at Alexandre with a gaze I could only describe as curious. His eyes were open, but Alexandre's face was so close that Jac i's eyes ended up going a little crossed. I stared at him in wonderment. Despite the fact that he was just a baby with normal developmental needs like growing up, learning, and needing his parents to guide and care for him, he was controlling another human being. In a word, he was powerful.

I breathed a sigh of relief over the realization that my instincts had been true and turned my attention back to Alexandre, who was now shriveling away right in front of my eyes. I was torn at letting things continue because I didn't want Jaci's first kill to be at such a tender age, yet, I was afraid that if I interfered with the process, Alexandre might recover too quick and harm us. While I was still contemplating, I felt the light from the orb release me. It remained floating in the air above my head, still glowing, but not absorbing my abilities from me anymore.

I figured that he must have died or the orb wouldn't have stopped working, so I reached down and picked up Jaci. Quick as a flash, his color returned and he stood with a menacing grin. "Healed yourself quickly, I see," I said trying to hide the fear that had gripped me.

"You were a fool. So was I, but I won't let you do that to me again." He took a step toward me and I realized that my ingenuity had run out, so I did the only thing that I could do. I decided to follow the vision. Twisting away from him, I jumped into the air, turned my body into a back flip and kicked the orb toward him with my foot. I came down on both feet, steady as a cat, and turned around to watch the orb smashing into his chest.

One thing I had neglected to remember in my vision was the fact that the orb gave off a blast of power when it exploded. The blast sent me sailing across the room. I smacked into the wall, sliding down in excruciating pain, gripping Jaci as tight as I could in my broken state.

I saw the alabaster statue before me, motionless, and the last thought I had before I passed out was that I hoped someone came for us soon.

********** ********** **********

_Joe's POV_

Jensen's eyes fluttered open. I sat on the ground with her in my lap, stroking her hair back from her face. The moment her amethyst gaze settled on me, I smiled at her. "How are you feeling, Fiammetta?"

"Uhn." She groaned, turning her face into my chest. After a few moments, she realized where she was and she sat up looking around before settling her gaze on my face with an eyebrow cocked. "What _took_ you so long, Superman?"

Sorrow gripped me in that moment. "Jen, I'm so sorry. I wanted to help you first, but I had to take care of Drognan. He–"

"Shh." Her finger came up to press against my lips. "I know. I was trying to lighten the mood. I didn't realize that you were feeling guilty." She leaned up and replaced her finger with her lips.

I nodded, still uncertain. "I don't want you to feel like I chose others over you. There was this whole process I had to do and…"

She smiled at me tenderly while I spoke and interrupted me before I could finish. "I knew you would get me out of there as soon as you could. I knew that you had a responsibility to help Katrine first because I knew you would kill Drognan as soon as possible. I didn't see it as you choosing anyone over me, but doing what you had to do. It wasn't fun to exist in the torture chamber, but I wouldn't have given up Katrine's life just so I could get out sooner."

I stared at her, amazed at her compassion and love for others. I knew she was protective of her friends and kept herself available in case she was needed, but for the first time I realized that it was because of her caring nature that she wanted to help those around her.

I leaned forward and murmured against her forehead, "You are the most amazing woman I have ever met."

She tilted her head back and looked me in the eye. "Even more amazing than Stephanie Manoso?"

Realizing that she, and probably everyone else in my life, questioned the degree of my feelings about Stephanie, I smiled at her. "She's pretty amazing, I'll give her that, but there's something that sets you apart from her."

"What's that?" Her brow had furrowed when I said Stephanie was amazing, but now she looked at me in wonder.

"You're amazing _and_ you have my whole heart. No one can compare with that." I sealed the admission with a kiss that heated up quickly, engulfing us in the fiery flames of our love and desire. "I do have a question for you, Fiammetta," I said when we pulled apart.

"Oh?"

"All this time since I started calling you Fiammetta and I told you why…you never said anything about your, uh, _special talent_. Why?" I stared at her, keeping my expression amused.

"Some things are easier to demonstrate than to explain." Her simple answer made me laugh and I dipped my head down to get lost in her heat once more. I had forgotten anyone else existed until my grandmother cleared her throat. Jensen and I separated and looked up at her.

"You _are_ bringing this young lady to dinner on Sunday, Joey, aren't you?" She gave me the Morelli 'no nonsense' stare and I grinned and nodded once.

"Yes, Grandma. Dinner on Sunday." I stood, then, keeping Jensen in my arms and walked over to Grandma Bella. "This is Jensen."

My grandmother's eyes twinkled at me. "Yes, I know, but thank you for introducing me." She turned to Jensen and patted her hand softly. I stared at their hands – the young covered by the old – and realized that one day I wouldn't have that older, wiser hand to comfort me. I almost choked on my sadness. "I knew the moment my Joey fell in love and I've been watching over the two of you since. You're the right woman for him. I feel it."

I noticed through the entire exchange, that Batiste's hand never left my grandmother's back. I quirked an eyebrow at him and he gave me a slight smile. "A story for another time, perhaps." I let it go for the moment, but I would make him explain later when all this was over.

I heard footsteps on the grass and looked up to see the four others, Javi, Aric, Tank, and Ranger, approaching. I looked around for Oliver. I lifted my chin slightly at Ranger. "Where's Oliver?"

Ranger looked around intensely. "With Lynck. Where is my wife?"


	20. Chapter 20

_Disclaimer: Standard – JE's stuff belongs to her, I'm just playing with it._

_A/N: This is the end! Thank you for reading the story and for the reviews and encouragement. I hope you enjoyed the ride. A special thanks to M&M for putting up with my craziness, for listening to me whine, and for setting me straight when I started to take the wrong path a few times!_

********** ********** **********

_Joe's POV_

I felt the dread slam into me at Ranger's question. We'd been so caught up in the events of the past fifteen minutes that we had forgotten Stephanie was missing. Settling Jensen on her feet and kissing her nose, I looked at Ranger. "She went into the house a few minutes ago. Things were kind of crazy out here at the time and she snuck in."

He muttered something in Spanish, but his tone suggested frustration. He turned to Batiste. "Can you get a feel for where she is? I can't."

Batiste turned thoughtful for a moment. "Got her."

"Take me to her." I wondered if Manoso would ever learn to ask for anything.

The two men disappeared and I turned to see Jensen getting hugs from Javi and Aric. I felt the familiar pang of jealousy I normally felt, but suppressed it. I couldn't allow myself to feel this way every time someone she knew got close to her.

_Damn, Morelli. Are you growing up?_ It was a scary thought.

I looked over at Grandma Bella. She was my hero. She had been all my life. Our eyes met, hers full of assurance and love, just as they'd always been; mine full of love and understanding, a new development, but one I knew was appreciated. Walking over to her, I wrapped my strong arms around her, feeling for the first time how fragile she was. It might have been my fears telling me she was fragile because she wasn't immortal any longer, though, because the truth had finally begun to seep into my overworked thoughts: She would never be fragile; she was the strongest woman I had ever known.

I felt a warm presence at my elbow and turned my head to look at the other strong woman in my life and said to her, "My Grandma Bella is my hero." No more explanation was necessary.

Jensen smiled and raised her hand to cup my cheek, "I can't resist a man who loves his grandmother so much."

********** ********** **********

_Stephanie's POV_

I felt cool. The heat had finally left me; the burning pain that had spread through my body was gone, replaced by a rush of cool, liquid comfort. A frightening thought entered my head that it might be death. After deciding, though, that death was welcome if it felt this good, I realized that I knew this cooling effect quite well. I was being healed.

I settled into the pleasant feeling, sighing in relief as more pain was dispelled by the cool peacefulness that follows a healing touch. A hand stroked my cheek, and not just any hand. This hand was strong and warm, gentle and loving. This hand I knew well. Carlos.

My eyes fluttered open and I saw my husband's handsome face before me. Though his eyes were edged with concern, he smiled and said, "Welcome back, Babe." I saw that he had Jaci in his arms and felt my heart flutter in my chest at the sight of his big, muscular arms wrapped around the tiny, sleeping bundle.

I felt a tear slip down my cheek and then the slight caress of his thumb as he wiped it away. "Carlos. I'm so glad to see you."

"You took off on your own, Babe. We're going to have to talk about that later." His eyes were warm, but intense. He always got a little crazy when he was worried about me. In some ways, that craziness was pleasant. It always led to violent make up sex. _Good, I'm in the mood for some violent make up sex._

I heard a chuckle to my right and turned my head to see Batiste sitting in the chair I had used earlier. "I think my job is done here."

"What about all the assassins?" I asked.

"Gone. Either destroyed or ran away." He stood, straightening his jacket and fixing his collar. "There is an IAPSA Board meeting today. Dale Willoughby was able to locate the woman who gave the prophecy about Jacinto. They've already learned some interesting things about the events surrounding when the prophecy was given." His eyes grew hard and his lips formed a tight line as he compressed them in irritation. "I think it's safe to say you'll be free to live your lives as you please by the time the day is out."

"Is it really that simple?" Carlos asked.

"It will be. I'll call you, but stay alert until then. It may take a little while to get the word out." With a nod in our direction, he disappeared.

"Stephanie…" I braced myself. Carlos only said my full name these days when he was in the throes of passion or when he was really angry. Since he wasn't currently in the throes of passion…

"Yes, Carlos?"

"You're going to be the death of me, Babe," he sighed and stood, holding a hand out to me to help me up.

I gripped his wrist and felt his hand close around mine and then he pulled me up so I was standing right in front of him. "I'm sorry. I thought it was safe to come in because Joe had taken care of Drognan."

He sighed, blew out a breath, and then he gave a short laugh and hooked his free arm around my neck, leading me to the door. "Tell me what happened while I was fighting."

********** ********** **********

Two Weeks Later

********** ********** **********

_Joe's POV_

I wrapped my arm around Jensen's waist and pulled her up against my chest, laying a blazing kiss on her mouth. "Are you ready, Fiammetta?"

I watched as the fire lit up in her eyes, consuming them. "Oh yeah, Superman. Let's do this."

I reached down and turned the door knob with ease, even if it was locked on the other side. Being immortal was proving to be very useful. Jensen and I walked into the small house quietly, listening.

Suddenly a laugh erupted from a room to the right, followed by another. A loud man's voice shouted, "Fuck you, asshole!"

Then a calmer, cooler voice said, "Cool it, all of you."

I saw Jensen stiffen at the voice and my blood ran hot from the anger that her discomfort whipped up. "It's your show. I'm here to make sure they don't lay one finger on you, but I won't interfere."

She smiled at me, confident in her ability to bring these three assholes to their knees…and then some.

We sauntered through the swinging door and took in the scene. The room was a kitchen with a small round wooden table and three plain wooden chairs around it. Three men sat at the table, two of them playing cards. The third was sipping a small glass of amber liquid on ice, most likely a whiskey. By Jen's reaction at seeing him, I guessed him to be Turner.

As soon as we entered the room, Turner stood and lumbered toward us. "Look, fellas. It's Jenny Bear. How's my sweet little tart?"

I blocked the powers of the three men so they couldn't use any unmentionable attacks on her and waited to see what Jensen did.

Without saying anything, she gave an icy smile to the big dope and walked up, taking his hand in hers. He gave her a sinister grin that made me want to smash him into a million tiny pieces. Suddenly, I saw the flames leap in her eyes and her body spontaneously combusted into a huge fireball.

"Ah! Ah! Let go, bitch!" Turner began tugging his arm away from her, but I had sealed their hands together. Neither could let go until I decided it was time.

Jensen gave him a cold look and kept squeezing his hand, sending flames shooting up his arm. "Ahhh!" He howled in pain. The flames licked at his clothing and flesh like wildfire. Soon his hair was ablaze.

By this time, the other two buffoons had figured out that she was trouble and stood up from the table. They went to make a hasty retreat out the back door, but I said, "Uh, uh, uh, fellas. Not so fast." I froze them in place. "You're just going to have to wait your turn."

"What is this?!" Turner was screaming, but he was so covered with flames that he was barely recognizable. He started gasping and choking and Jensen turned to me, nodding her head once.

I released their hands and then willed the flames away. He stayed on his knees before us. His hair was completely singed off and his clothing was charred and flaking off his body. He was covered with burns, but he would survive just fine, provided he found a healer willing to deal with him.

With Turner out of commission, she turned around to face Buffoon A.

"Hey, girlie. Listen, you know I just take orders. I didn't mean any of it or nothin', you gotta believe me!" His tone was pleading and his eyes were wide.

Jensen never said a word. She just turned her head to look at Buffoon B who stood looking at her with a sneer on his face. He was making it clear that he wasn't begging for anything from her. Stupid man.

She grabbed each by the arm and focused in on her anger. Buffoon A was sniveling like a baby, B was scowling. With a yell, she released her flames up both of their arms and then let go, turning around to face me. "Okay, let's go."

She took my hand and led me out of the kitchen. I could hear Buffoon A screaming and begging, but B hadn't said a word, yet. "You're just leaving them like that?"

"They raped and tortured me for weeks. What do you want me to do to them?"

I had no inclination to argue with her. "What about Turner?"

"Can he leave the building?"

I rooted him to the spot with my mind. "Not anymore."

"Let's go on our honeymoon, now." She leaned up to kiss my cheek and walked out the front door.

I followed her and took her hand, propelling us through space to our luxury bungalow on Bora Bora. I looked her over and said, "Hmm, I don't think we need these anymore." And suddenly our clothes were gone.

She jumped into my arms, wrapping her arms and legs around me. "Thanks, Superman. That was the best wedding present ever."

"No more demons for my wife." I said, kissing her passionately. "Now, let's forget about them. I've been thinking about that huge bed all afternoon."

"Fine," she laughed, "but I get the top this time."

_Damn, I was a lucky man._

********** ********** **********

_Stephanie's POV_

"I can't believe that you dated Bella when you were seventeen!" I was simply astounded with Batiste's story. "It never would have entered my thoughts. Even if I had known she was immortal." We were in the penthouse on the seventh floor of Rangeman on Haywood, drinking coffee and enjoying each others' company.

Batiste considered me thoughtfully for a moment. "Yes, well, that was a long time ago."

"What made you split up?"

"Her parents. I wasn't Italian. They were really strict and wanted to keep the blood lines pure. Anthony Morelli was sniffing around and had won them over." His voice was stiff with emotion. "I knew she loved me, but I refused to ask her to go against her parents' wishes."

"And she always knew she was immortal?" The question came from Carlos. He was turning into such a gossip. "Pot calling the kettle black, Babe?"

"Shh! I want to hear the answer." _Heh, heh._

Batiste gave us a slight shake of his head. "She knew she was immortal from the day she turned sixteen, but she chose to live a normal human life. I didn't know I was immortal back then and she didn't, either. We only met because I spent two years as a sort of exchange student at her secondary school. We had a lot of classes together and got close."

"I think that it was easier for her to choose Morelli because she didn't care for him as much." He gave a weary sigh. "She wasn't sure what sort of repercussions there would be from her abilities, and I think that she loved me too much to put me through it."

"Wow!" I exclaimed, my eyes wide. "Did she tell you that she was immortal?"

"No. I had no idea and it would have blown me away back then." He set down his coffee cup and continued, "In the end, we were both immortal and it would have been fine, but I have no regrets over the life I lived. It is life that makes you who you are. I'm just glad I finally got to tell her how I felt about her and what I did for her."

"What was that?"

"Several years back, I came to Trenton to 'look in' on her, to see how she was doing. I saw Morelli beating her. Even though I knew she didn't allow it to physically hurt her, that she could block it, he was still doing it." He stood and walked over to the window, looking out over the city. "I snapped. I still loved her, even after all those years. Even after being married to someone else, having children with someone else, she was the one my heart wanted. So…I willed his heart to stop. He gripped his chest and he keeled over right there."

Neither Carlos nor I said anything. We looked at each other and we were both remembering Abruzzi and Truro.

"Yes, like that. A love so strong you could kill for the person." He sighed and pressed his forehead to the glass. "I don't know if she ever suspected, but I just wanted her to live free."

I walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "I can understand that and I'm sure she would, as well."

He turned to me and slid an arm around my waist, pressing a kiss to my temple. "Thank you, my dear."

"So…" I began and then lost my nerve. He quirked an eyebrow at me and I continued. "What's to stop you from pursuing a relationship now?"

"Well, I…" he broke off, his brow furrowing. "You know, I can't really remember the reasons right now."

I leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Go to her. She loves you, too. I saw it last week at Joe and Jensen's wedding. The way she looked at you, her eyes reflected how she really feels for you. She still loves you."

"I'm afraid," he said quietly. This was a huge admission from him, but when he was with us, he could let his _human_ side through.

"Because she is going to die?"

He nodded.

"Well, I guess if you want to live without ever having her in your life and you're just waiting for the day when she is gone, then you should just continue to be afraid." His eyes snapped to mine and I saw the beginnings of a fire there. "Don't be stupid. Spend as much time as you can with her."

He opened his mouth to speak and then did something I didn't expect. He picked me up and hugged me close, twirling me around once. "You're right." He laughed and walked to the front door, grabbing his hat and coat. "You're right!" He disappeared through the door and I laughed, turning around and walking straight into Carlos' chest.

"Babe, sometimes you make so much sense you scare me."

"And the other times?"

"You make so little sense you scare me." He leaned in to kiss me.

"Hey, did you just insult me?"

"Just kiss me, Babe, before our son wakes up." I grinned and wrapped my arms around his waist, accepting his mouth and opening mine to his seeking tongue.

His hand slipped under my shirt and moved up to cup my breast. As if he realized someone was playing with his food source, our son woke up and started crying from his bassinet in the bedroom.

"I swear that child has laid a claim on your breasts, Babe," he groaned and stepped away.

"Probably. He's half Cuban and he's territorial." I smiled and walked toward the bedroom.

Suddenly Carlos was pressed against my back with his hands roaming over my breasts. "Mine!" he growled.

Jaci started crying louder at that point and I laughed, looking up into Carlos' face. "Care to argue that point with the boss?"

"Someday…"

The smile was still on my face when I walked into our bedroom to lift my hungry son. "Yes. Someday, Jaci. But for now, you're going to have to fight daddy every step of the way. And your mommy loves it."


End file.
